


Time Waits for No Man

by LaughingWombat



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe – Canon Divergence, Angst, But Kushina got there first, Butterfly Effect, Gen, Hatake Kakashi Needs a Hug, Hatake Kakashi-centric, Hokage Hatake Kakashi, Hurt/Comfort, Injury Recovery, Moral Dilemmas, Namikaze Minato Adopts Hatake Kakashi, Politics, Team as Family, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-26
Updated: 2021-03-05
Packaged: 2021-03-10 02:07:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 34,752
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27736597
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LaughingWombat/pseuds/LaughingWombat
Summary: Rokudaime Kakashi finds himself back in time, and he is trying desperately not to change anything. Afterall, they finally achieved that illusive peace and Kakashi won't give that up for some ghosts and old wounds. Yet things keep changing around him and he doesn't know what to do.
Relationships: Hatake Kakashi & Namikaze Minato, Hatake Kakashi & Nohara Rin & Uchiha Obito, Hatake Kakashi & Uzumaki Kushina, Namikaze Minato/Uzumaki Kushina
Comments: 768
Kudos: 703
Collections: Time Travel no Jutsu





	1. Prologue

Jounin exams were much quieter than the chuunin exams. The Chuunin exams, historically, acted as political posturing with other villages. The villages in attendance often sent their best to the foreign exams with orders to kill off other attendees. If they could dominate the exams with their genin, it gave them a better standing in negotiations and client favor. 

The Jounin Exams were always in-house and kept quiet. By the time a chuunin is ready to become a jounin, they have techniques you don't want to be shown off internationally. A village also wants to keep their number of jounins private.

The demands on jounins are high, and most shinobi never make it to that rank. They test operation management, locating and retrieval, resource management, leadership, communication, strategy, rescue operations, and team conflict resolution, to name a few of the skills they look at.

After the fourth shinobi war, Konoha took a break from all exams. It was a bold decision with their forces whittled down as they were, but Kakashi opted to treat the treaties in good faith. Instead, he focused his attention on rebuilding their infrastructure. Since the 4th shinobi war was fought on their doorstep, the other villages had sent Konoha aid as an act of goodwill. Konoha received supplies and workers. In turn, Kakashi focused on making sure these foreign shinobis felt Konoha’s appreciation. Treaties were delicate, and insults would not be taken lightly. 

It had been a gamble to keep Konoha in its weakened state. However, Kakashi maintained a state of emergency during the three years so that field promotions could still occur. Suna was also taking an overly friendly stance towards Konoha. So, if anyone messed with Konoha, they would feel the wrath of Suna. It was likely Gaara’s why to show his off to the other villages his friendship with Naruto via bullying. Despite his position, Gaara was still a teenager and took pride in unusual things. Kakashi wouldn’t complain. It kept the other villages from trying to subdue Konoha. Hell, things with Kumo were going so well was likely due to B's and Naruto's friendship. Kakashi’s student really was something else. 

"Hokage-sama, as a proctor for the exam, you really should be paying more attention," Shizune scolded Kakashi. 

"Maa, sorry, Shizune-san," Kakashi said politely and offered her a quick smile. Shizune was on loan to him. Shikamaru had received a field promotion to tokubetsu jounin. Still, Kakashi wanted him to be a full jounin, so he could step into the roles he had planned for him. So, Shikamaru was currently taking the exam. It was his first chance since the 4th war. Shizune had graciously stayed on after Tsunade-sama's retirement to help with the transition. 

Shizune pursed her lips but turned her attention back to the screens. The screens flipped through various cameras, but the largest one remained steady on Shikamaru and his team.

Every jounin exam was different, but this element was of Kakashi's own design. The testing chuunin would lead two other jounins in a mission simulation. Their goal was to extract an informant to prevent valuable information from being leaked. They were to go unmarked. If caught, Konoha would not claim knowledge of them and would abandon them to their captures. According to sources, the informant is currently in an old tower, now being used as an outpost. 

Upon arrival, the team would discover their cover was blown, and the enemy was ready for them. A trap would be sprung the moment they arrived. There was no chance for mission success. He wanted to see how the chuunins would respond in such a dire situation. Could they keep their wits about them and command their team while faced with certain death? Would they work towards completing the mission, or would the chuunin abandon the mission in favor of bringing their team home alive? 

Shikamaru was just now approaching the tower in the middle of training ground 44. In there, the informant was supposed to be held. 

"Do you sense anything, Tofu?" Shikamaru asked. They could hear him over the mics they planted and the cameras stationed in the trees. 

"Nobody. It's really quiet. Too quiet," Tofu whispered. She was crouched down beside Shikamaru. The second jounin, Haburashi, was scouting from the trees. 

"Genjutsu." Shikamaru quickly broke it and immediately swore. He was finally able to see the legion of shinobis in front of him. Kakashi had called in most of the jounin task force for this. It was a little funny seeing the poor chuunin’s face when they realized how outmatched they truly were.

Kakashi leaned forward, curious to see what Shikamaru's next course of action would be. The shadows grew from every direction like a curtain closing to hide their retreat. The trio sped away at an impressive speed. Kakashi was reasonably sure he has never seen a Nara run that fast. They stopped behind a thicket. The thorny bush would likely offer some form of cover but not for long. 

"He's going to call it," Kakashi said, leaning back. "He won't even try."

Shizune clicked her tongue. "The other two might convince him. It's more than just his judgment being tested. How Shikamaru responds to others on the team is just as important," she pointed out and lifted a cup of tea to her lips. 

Shikamaru was staring out over the thicket. "I'm calling the mission."

"What? We haven't even tried," Tofu argued.

Shikamaru glanced at Haburashi then back at Tofu. "This mission has no chance of success."

"We still have to try. Hokage-sama told us how important this informant is. How can we go back without even trying?" Tofu demanded incredulously with a glare.

Shikamaru shook his head, "The informant is either dead or has given up the information. Proceeding further would be an unnecessary risk of lives and a waste of resources-" 

"Incoming," Haburashi interrupted. The whole of Konoha's jounin-might descended upon the poor 3-man-team. Considering this was not a real mission, it would likely be reduced to hazing of some kind. ANBU was notorious for hazing. It didn’t surprise him that jounins would do the same given a chance. He mentally wished Shikamaru luck. 

Shizune sighed, "That was anticlimactic and short-lived. Umano Kao was much more interesting." Umano Kao was a sensor and had not been fooled by the genjutsu. He and his team snuck around, trying to evade all the jounins and traps. One teammate was lost to a trap, but the other two did make it into the tower. It had honestly been rather interesting to watch, unlike Shikamaru's performance. Umano-san's team 'died' on the mission. 

"Hmmm, Umano-san did a decent job getting past the guards into the tower. He certainly evaded a lot of traps. But Shikamaru had a better read on the situation as a whole despite not being a sensor. Maybe I should have you run the simulation and see how entertaining you are?" Kakashi teased. 

Shizune scoffed at the idea. She lifted her chin and looked down her nose at the screen, "Doubtful, I would have done the same as Shikamaru. The informant is not worth the lives of the group."

"No? But if the informant is not removed from the situation, it'll put Konoha in a tight spot. Likely start a war if the relationship with other villages is poor."

Shizune frowned, "surely one informant is not that important?"

"The informant is currently being tortured for information. If the team goes and kills the informant, then they would successfully keep Konoha out of a war that would cost many lives," Kakashi explained. 

Shizune's eyes flickered between Kakashi and the television. Shikamaru's team was currently being blown up as they set off a trap. "You seem awful certain the results would be catastrophic. Surely, our ties with the other villages are stronger than that now."

"Currently, yes. But even a situation like this would be precarious for us. Do you save your teammates and damn the village, or do you damn your teammates to save the village?"

"What would you do?" Shizune asked. 

Kakashi was quiet for a moment. Shikamaru rolled out of the way of an attack and sent a shuriken volley to help Haburashi get out of a tight spot. "Maaa, I wonder…"

*****

The simulation was over for the day. There were three more scheduled for tomorrow. Everyone was under strict orders not to discuss the test. Kakashi found himself walking the paths behind the Hatake estate. The estate itself had been torn down. Kakashi had neglected it, and vandalism had destroyed it. The family shrine was still intact and hidden among the trees. He found himself coming to the family shrine more often in his old age. Perhaps 33 wasn't actually old, but he certainly felt old. 

The Hatake clan in Konoha had always been small. The clan did not originate in fire country. In fact, the clan resided in the Howling Wolf Village. It was well known for its medicine, and he heard the Hatake clan grew a lot of the medicinal herbs. They had been shinobi as well until the village had an internal conflict. They gave up their shinobi village status. The bulk of the clan still resided there, and the line that moved to Konoha had dwindled to Kakashi. 

Kakashi made it to the grave marker of his father and cleared it of the usual dead foliage. He traced the groves of the Sakumo's name. Kakashi was more familiar with lines on his father’s tombstone than the lines of his father’s face. 

The morning sun pleated through the leaves, and the birds chattered around Kakashi. It had been a long night, and the day was just beginning for most. Kakashi was ready for it to end, though. "Shikamaru made the same decision you did. He is hailed as a brilliant strategist like his father, and when faced with your final mission, he made the same call. Would he have come home to the same welcome you did?" he murmured. He didn’t want to break the peace around him, but he needed to talk to his Dad.

Kakashi scraped off some of the moss growing on the stone. How funny that tombstones were discolored the same green chuunin and jounin wear. Perhaps he should change the uniform. It couldn’t be healthy for morale. 

"If you had successfully killed the informant, would the third war have been avoided? Would Obito and Rin still be alive? I'm not blaming you. I'm just trying to understand me,” Kakashi let out a heavy sigh, “I thought I had laid this to rest. I thought I had agreed with your decision. Those who leave a comrade behind are worse than trash. But here I am, running my jounin candidates through your final mission. How many others died for the sake of saving your team?" Kakashi winced at his own question.

Sakumo wouldn't have been able to consider the cost of his decision at that moment. But it was a decision that's ramifications were far-reaching and devastating. Sandaime had been extremely upset with his father, and now Kakashi was beginning to understand why. 

As a jounin, your world was small. You worried about the mission and your team. But as Hokage, he was forced to examine the bigger picture. Such as how failed missions affected merchant costs and how incredibly dependent the village was on D ranks. It was interesting and complicated. Kakashi had so many lives to considered. No longer was it just mission and team. He now had to think about how it affected the lives of all those in the village, civilians, shinobi, daimyo, political treaties, children, and so much more. How do you decide which one is more important? 

"I know what I would have done in that mission as a kid, as an ANBU, and as a jounin. But what about now? What would I choose now? The village or the team? I couldn't have sent my teammates away to safety and expected to accomplish that mission. But even now, I send teams out on missions knowing they could die. When crafting missions, I must ask if the mission is worth more than their lives. Dad, I'm ashamed to say it, but I don't know that you made the right decision anymore." The confession thudded to the ground at his feet. Kakashi swallowed thickly and took two steps back away from the grave. 

Perhaps Kakashi had been too honest. Even if no one was currently here and he was talking to a rock. Voicing thoughts like that wasn't acceptable. He was the Hokage. He wasn't supposed to be this lost. 

Kakashi decided he just needed to clear his head. A run would help. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I felt like this story needed a bit more upfront than I originally gave it. It gives a better feel of Kakashi's mindset going into the time travel. I hope you enjoy it!


	2. At Death's Door

Sweat dripped into Kakashi’s eyes, momentarily clouding his vision. His breathing remained controlled, but inside it vibrated against his ribs. He tightened his slick hand on his kunai. It was times like these he wished he still had Obito's sharingan. The man before him looked rough, but he looked better than how Kakashi felt. Hopefully, it wasn’t accurate. A nice bruise was already forming under his opponent's pale eye and spreading to the bridge of his nose. Kakashi couldn’t help but feel a bit vindicated with that solid hit.

Kakashi had not expected an encounter like this when he had opted to go for a morning run through the woods. He had no idea there had been an enemy nin this close to Konoha; especially, one this powerful. Thankfully, Kakashi had sent Guruko to fetch Naruto before he intercepted. He hoped this would be an easy take down and he would not need the back up. It was not. His colorless features and Byakugan like eyes harkened back to Kaguya. A knot twisted in his gut. He needed to keep this man at bay until backup could arrive. Kakashi's eyes narrowed as the enemy nin's hands began to fly through a jutsu. Kakashi had no intention of letting him finish and bull-rushed him. It wasn’t his style at all, but he was running out of options.

The ground dropped beneath Kakashi, and before he could correct his footing, a chakra wave hit him. Kakashi was thrown back off his feet so hard he had an out-of-body experience and could see his own back. He reached out to his image, hunched forward for speed, an arm swinging forward with his kunai, and one leg up as he sprinted ahead. The image slowly changed as his body fell forward while an unseen force shoved him back. He looked at the enemy, who was not looking at his image but staring him in the eye with a smug look. The trees rushing past him covered the scene. He was being dragged from behind. Faster and faster. No longer were trees rushing past him but people — scenes of a play familiar to him. Sakura dressed in her scrubs, giving him a weary look after surgery with Gai. Naruto and Sasuke sitting next to each other on the hospital bed, each with an empty sleeve. Tenzo’s hand on his shoulder as he looked into the distance. Tears dripping down Obito’s scarred face as he said goodbye. Kaguya’s terrifying presence as she stared down at them from above. Sakura looked exhausted with her sleeve torn off of her black shirt. Choji and Shikamaru had grave looks etched deeply in their faces with the word shinobi on their headbands. The images moved quicker. Kurenai’s pregnancy. Asuma smoking. Gai posing with his thumb up. Naruto inhaling ramen. Sakura blushing. Sandaime with his pipe. It was getting harder to distinguish them now. The faces were mixing, and the colors were blending. Where was he going? His heart was in his throat, suffocating him. Then he hit the ground hard. The back of his head made an audible crack. He stared wide-eyed at the intensely blue sky.

The sound of blood rushing in his ears blocked out the outside noise. A bird fled from his branch across the sky in his view. He tried to swallow some air, hoping it would dislodge his heart from his throat. Blonde hair and blue eyes suddenly appeared above Kakashi. The man’s mouth was moving, but Kakashi couldn’t hear it. He needed to get up. What had happened with the enemy nin he had been fighting? A hand pressed down on Kakashi's chest and the unexpected weight felt immense. He had no strength in his arms, so he scratched at the hand pinning him down and his legs kicked out uselessly against the dirt. The blond’s face turned away. Seizing the opportunity, Kakashi went to swipe at him with a kunai, but that kunai was gone. Someone grabbed his legs. Kakashi threw his chest up, trying to buck the hold, but the man put more pressure on his chest to keep him down. A glowing hand passed over his face, but he could feel the familiar tease of foreign chakra meeting his own. “Sa-sakura," he managed to rasp out. He bared down on his teeth and bucked hard, throwing his head forward to increase his momentum. Instead, he smacked his head back against the ground. His body tightened, and electricity shot through him. Then he knew no more.

Minato’s eyes widened as his young charge continued to seize under his hand. Only the whites of his eyes were visible as blood pooled behind his head. It was dangerous to move him, but it was dangerous to leave him here too. Kakashi needed a real medic. Minato shoved his arms under the convulsing boy, ignoring Rin’s protests and Obito’s tumbling off his legs. Minato used hiraishin and suddenly appeared in the hospital. Everyone around him jumped and several went into a defensive stance before recognizing him.

“Someone help!” Minato pleaded. Soon the boy was being forced back onto the floor. Doctors or nurses, Minato wasn’t sure, crowded around Kakashi. Minato was pulled away, but his eyes remained on Kakashi until all he could see was the back of someone wearing white. A hand on his face coaxed him to look away and towards a concerned medic-nin. Her eyes were dark brown, and her thin mouth was tugging down.

“Can you repeat that?” Minato asked distractedly. He pulled on his left ear and tried to focus on the woman in front of him.

“Can you tell me what happened, Namikaze-san?” She had a voice like lavender and warm water.

“I’m not sure I can.” Minato furrowed his brows as he thought back. “We had been training. The boys had finished their spar, and I was going over my analysis with them. They kept quipping at each other. You know boys. Kakashi is a prodigy in his form and brilliance. He is significantly better than Obito, but Obito isn’t anything to dismiss. He has a sturdy build and-“

“Namikaze-san,” she interrupted, pulling his face again to look at her. He hadn’t realized his eyes had drifted back to his student. “What happened?”

“We were just standing there. No one was physically fighting, when something knocked Kakashi-kun straight off his feet. He knows how to land.” Minato glanced back and saw that the doctors had brought a gurney and were lifting Kakashi onto it. A small limp hand bobbed, and he jerked his eyes away. The image though, he couldn’t unsee. “He didn’t even try to correct it. He landed hard. Maybe on a rock? I’m not sure. He landed so hard he may not have needed to hit a rock.”

“So, he fell back and hit his head?”

“Yes. His eyes were unfocused and he seemed dazed. I kept him on the ground but he fought me. I couldn't calm him down. It was like he didn't recognize me. He was kicking his feet up and clawing at my arm, so I had Obito focus on hindering his legs. I was worried he was going to hurt himself worse. Rin did a medic check. She’s training to be the team’s field medic. It seemed to stop him for a moment. He said…” He paused, trying to make sense of it, “sakura.”

“Like the flower?” the nurse questioned.

Minato nodded. “Yes, like the flower. Maybe his words were jumbled, but that’s what it sounded like. Then he bucked hard. I tried to subdue him. I ended up pushing him back down, and he hit his head again. His eyes rolled back, and he began to seize. I brought him directly here at that point.”

The nurse nodded her head. “We’ll take care of him,” she told him. “We’ll do everything we can, so leave him to us. You focus on calling those that need to know. Stay in the hospital, and feel free to use the phone. A receptionist can help you with that.” She led him away from the nurses’ station, out the double doors, and into the waiting room. She ignored the line and snagged the phone off the receptionist’s desk. “Call someone," she said again, “and stay in the waiting room. We will be back with any news.” She then turned and hurried back to where they had come from.

Minato stared at the phone for a moment. It looked so foreign to him. He reached out, but then wondered who he would call. Kakashi had no family. It couldn’t even really be said he had friends. His team was likely rushing to get here. It wouldn’t be any wonder where he had gone. His heart clenched as he remembered that pale, lifeless hand. He shook his head to clear his thoughts. Why was he even considering using a phone? He went through the familiar hand signs for his summon. A puff of smoke, and a red toad with goggles around his neck appeared. “Kousuke,” Minato greeted, “I need you to bring me Jiraiya-sensei and Kushina-san.”

“You got it, Minato. I’ll be right back,” the toad rumbled quietly to him. Minato remembered to thank the toad just as it left. That was Kousuke; he was quick to do as he was told without asking questions.

“SENSEI!” a voice bellowed. He looked up in time to see Obito throwing himself at him. Rin was following behind. Minato landed on his ass. “Is he okay, Sensei?” Obito asked into his chest.

Minato rested his hand on Obito's head. “Not yet,” he said honestly. “We have to trust he will be fine.” He moved Obito so he could stand up, but the boy didn’t seem keen to let him go. Minato still managed to get to his feet and gestured to Rin to join in the hug. Her eyes shimmered, and she rushed into his side and cried quietly into his vest.

“He’ll be okay. Kakashi is strong," he tried to reassure all of them.

“But what happened? One moment everything was normal, and then…it just wasn’t.” Obito’s eyes blinked rapidly.

“I don’t know,” Minato said.

“An enemy ninja?” Obito prompted.

“I don’t know,” Minato repeated. Surely he would have noticed something like that. He needed to meditate on it. Perhaps more answers would emerge.

Jiraiya was the first to appear. He tumbled out of the mouth of a toad. He landed in a squat, one hand extended out with only his thumb curled in. His other hand similarly extended behind him.

“It is I, the great-” Jiraiya cut himself off. He stood up straight as he made eye contact with Minato. “What’s going on?”

Minato was in no mood for Jiraiya’s games. Usually, he felt some affection for his Sensei’s antics, but now wasn’t the time. Jiraiya seemed to have caught on to that quickly.

Sweet Rin spoke up from Minato’s side. “Kakashi was hurt. We don’t know what happened. He just….he just got hurt.”

Jiraiya looked at Minato, and Minato nodded his head. It wasn’t the best explanation, but he couldn’t seem to supply a better one at the moment. “Rin,” Jiraiya called to her soberly, “you know this hospital well enough. You and Obito go get everyone some water from the cafeteria.”

Rin looked up at Minato, who just nodded his head in confirmation. Rin then took Obito’s hand and led him away. Minato watched them leave while Jiraiya watched him. “Will you tell me what happened, Minato?”

“I don’t know.” It seems he’s been saying that a lot lately. “He was fine, and then he wasn’t." Minato glanced back to where his students disappeared. "Sensei, I think he might be dead,” Minato quietly admitted, remembering that limp little hand. Kakashi was just a child...

“Dead? How can someone be fine and then dead, Minato?” Jiraiya pressed.

Minato had to look away from his teacher and towards the door. “I don’t know. He was fine, and then he wasn’t. Sensei, what if he’s dead? I don’t even know what killed him.” He voiced his worst fears as another pop sounded.

“Who died?” Kushina looked between the two. Respect for the hospital kept her voice down.

Minato turned towards her, and Kushina moved to him. Her eyes were searching, but he needed another minute before he could speak.

“Kakashi,” Jirayai-sensei answered for him. “Training accident, it sounds like.”

Kushina gasped, but Minato shook his head, “No, not a training accident. We weren’t actively training when it happened. Something knocked him clean off of his feet, and he hit his head hard. There was a lot of blood. Kakashi was panicking, delirious even, his words made no sense. Then he hit his head again and began having a seizure.”

Kushina pulled Minato into a hug, and Minato leaned into her. He could indulge himself for a moment while his students were away. Jiraiya hummed as he digested Minato’s words. “Rogue attack? Perhaps there was a group of shinobi training nearby?” It had happened before. Some of these events had even lead to death.

Minato shook his head. “I don’t know. I don’t even recall sensing chakra, but maybe. I need to meditate on it. I’m missing something.” He narrowed his eyes, but he couldn’t recall any new information.

The trio settled into the waiting room chairs, and the rest of Team 7 joined them with waters. Obito left to grab one more since he hadn’t known Kushina would be there. He had long since returned when a doctor approached them. The doctor's expression was controlled and offered no immediate relief

“Hatake-san sustained trauma to his head, and this has been the initial focus of treatment. His skull has suffered two fractures to it and swelling to the brain. He has not woken yet, and we hope to keep it that way until we get the swelling down. We will be monitoring him closely, and if necessary, we will induce a coma.”

Minato frowned, and his mind whirled. He knew Kakashi had hit the ground hard, and he had not used chakra or techniques to cushion his fall. Why hadn’t he? It should have been instinctual, even if he had been caught off guard. Minato had seen Kakashi caught off guard before, and he had always rolled with the fall, used the momentum to flip back up onto his feet.

Kushina squeezed Minato’s hand. “Is he going to be alright when he wakes up? Will he, like, remember everyone?”

The doctor shifted, not a good sign. “I cannot say. We won’t know until he wakes up.”

“Wait, so it’s possible? He’ll forget everything?” Obito looked up at the doctor wide-eyed.

The doctor looked at Minato but got no indication from him, so she continued. “Brain injuries are tricky. We won’t know until he wakes up. He could be fine, or he could experience some lasting effects. It may even show up a bit later, so the people around him must watch over him and report if they notice odd behavior.” Obito nodded slowly, his brows furrowed. He looked at Rin, who gave a worried look, too.

“You said that was your initial focus,” Minato began. “That means something else is wrong, too.”

“Yes, his chakra system. We could not heal him the way we normally do with shinobi because his system has been compromised, blown even. His chakra pathways were destroyed, and right now, our focus has to be healing that. It is what makes the head injury so difficult. Normally we can go in, heal the damage, and bring the swelling down. The sooner we do it, the less likely he'll be to have adverse effects. But we can’t use chakra if his pathways are blown apart. We need to mend those first, so we will be working around the clock to do so. Once those are fixed, we can go back to focusing on his head injury.” The doctor paused and studied their faces for a moment. “I wish I could offer better news. It is best if you all go rest up and eat. You won’t be able to see him for at least a day. I will call you, or you can check with the front desk at the hospital to see if he is out of surgery.”

Minato nodded, and the doctor left. What the hell happened? This level of damage? It was one thing for the head injury. That had been bad, but for all of his pathways to be blown? What could have caused that? He looked to Jiraiya, who looked just as confused. Minato heard crying and looked over to see Rin hiding her face in her hands and Obito trying to comfort her. His heart went out to the other two on his team. “You two should head home. We won’t be training anymore today. I will let you know when you can see him, alright?”

Rin nodded, unable to speak, but Obito just watched him. Minato couldn’t help but feel judged by those dark eyes. “Okay, Sensei.” Obito took Rin’s hand and went to lead her to her home.

“What the hell happened?” Jiraiya demanded once the chuunins were gone.

“Nothing you described could have hurt Kakashi like that, ya know," Kushina added.

Minato grimaced, “I know. I need to meditate and go over the events again. I’m missing something. I’ll keep you two informed, stay close by please.” He requested.

Jiraiya sighed and laid his hand on Minato’s shoulder. “I’ll be by a bit later. I need to see Sensei first, now that I’m back in the village. I left an important mission.”

Minato’s eyes widened. “Sensei, I didn’t realize. You shouldn’t have-“

Jiraiya held up a hand to silence him. “Minato, I care about Kakashi, too. More than that, you needed me here. It was right of you to call me. Something isn’t right, and we’ll figure it out. I will be at your place tonight.”

Minato gave his sensei a grateful smile. Kushina decided to pipe in, too., “Then I’ll go to the market and pick up the makings for dinner. Don’t worry; I can let myself in. You need to head home and meditate. You can tell us what you figure out over some tonkatsu. I heard pork cutlets were on sale today, ya know.” She grinned brightly. “We’ll figure this out, Minato.”

“Thank you, both of you.”


	3. All Questions but no Answers

Minato opened his eyes slowly and took in the world around him. The lights were off, but his room bathed in the orange and gray of the evening. He could also hear two voices in his kitchen. So, Kushina and Jiraiya-sensei had come. He shouldn’t have doubted them, but shinobi often left for an unexpected mission. Jiraiya more so than most.

Minato smiled when he heard Kushina shout at Jiraiya-sensei. Kushina-san was a wonderful friend, someone he could depend on off the field. She had been one of his first friends and helped him overcome his shy nature. Jiraiya-sensei had a hand in that, too, he supposed. Somehow, Minato seemed drawn to loud people.

The conversation in the kitchen continued to flow even after Minato arrived. Kushina used a set of long chopsticks to poked at the panko-crusted pork. Beside the pan was a plate that held two already fried golden brown. Jiraiya was leaning against the counter with his arms folded. The two of them were talking about Jiraiya’s new book. Jiraiya had recently published the Tale of the Gutsy Shinobi, and Kushina had adored it. Since then, the two had discussed similar books when they got together, usually at Minato’s apartment. 

“Those are coming out well,” Minato complimented Kushina, pointing at the cutlets. The redhead flashed him a brilliant smile.

“I've been working on it. Fugaku tells me I should keep moving the cutlets around; otherwise, it won't fry even. What the hell does he know? He doesn't cook. He’s just repeating what his mom says." Kushina rolled her eyes. "There’s more than one way to do something!"

Fugaku and Kushina were something else. You wouldn't know it, but they were best friends. There was no romantic interest, though. They had been on the same genin team but had gravitated towards each other even before that. In school, they trained and often partnered together while they were all in school. Where Minato could hardly speak to the redhead, Fugaku had never had a problem with it, something that made Minato a little envious. Kushina's relationship with the soon to be clan head gave Minato a better understanding of Obito's home life, which was why he gave the boy so much leniency.

Kushina pulled the last pork cutlet out of the pan and began cutting them. "Minato, take the salads out of the fridge and grab the tonkatsu sauce. Jiraiya, will you serve the rice?"

They tried to keep the meal light, but Minato's mind kept going back to his youngest student. Jiraiya let out a heavy sigh and put his chopsticks down. "Kushina, you did a wonderful job, but I think we are all too consumed in our thoughts to keep this casual. Minato, did your meditation bring anything else to the surface?"

Minato pressed his lips in a line, expression severe. "Yes, it did." Kushina sat straighter. "When I revisited the scene, I felt a sudden force of chakra bypass me, and that was what took Kakashi off his feet."

"An attack? why didn’t you pick up on it at the time?" Kushina’s brows furrowed.

"Because it felt like Kakashi's chakra," Minato explained.

Jiraiya frowned at this. "Like he suddenly expelled all his chakra at once? That would certainly blow his pathways, but why would he do that?"

Minato shook his head and wrapped his hands around his cooling tea. "That's not it. The chakra didn't come from Kakashi at all. It came from another source and hit Kakashi. It went right through the rest of us without notice, but when it hit him-" Minato sighed, not able to continue for a moment.

"And it felt like Kakashi?" Jiraiya clarified.

Minato nodded. "No matter how often I examined it, the chakra felt just like him. That’s why I didn't realize it before. Kakashi's chakra doesn't send up red flags for me, so I didn't register it. It was so strange."

Jiraiya leaned back and folded his arms. "What were the other two doing?"

"Nothing. Rin and Obito were just listening to my lecture. I can also confirm that Kakashi said sakura. Well, he stuttered it when Rin started to treat him.” It might be an unimportant detail, but Minato wasn’t willing to throw anything out just yet.

"Wrong time of year for those," Kushina frowned.

"After he said that, he knocked himself out while trying to escape. There was nothing more to it than that.” Minato tugged on his ear.

"I'll see what I can find out from Sensei. I'll write Tsunade too. Who knows, maybe she'll write back," Jiraiya offered.

Kushina nodded, then pointed to herself, "And I'll do some research in the library. You focus on Kakashi and your team. Leave the rest to us."

"Thank you. Speaking of which, I want to check on Kakashi," Minato stood up, but Jiraiya tugged him back down.

"The doctor said you couldn’t see him until tomorrow. I happen to know reconstructing chakra pathways is a tricky business. Hopefully, there is a Hyuuga present to help. For now, let's drink to his health instead.” Jiraiya-sensei brandished several bottles of sake, seemingly out of nowhere.

Minato looked utterly unimpressed. "I do not believe now is the time for drinking, Sensei. Not while Kakashi is fighting for his life."

Jiraiya shook his head, "This is exactly the time to drink. You need to rest, and frankly, if you're not drunk, you will be up all night worried about him."

"I'll be up in the morning with a hangover instead," Minato grumbled.

Kushina pushed a bottle into his hands, "Shut up, Wuss. I need a drink after all this." She then grabbed a bottle for herself.

☆☆☆☆☆☆

Minato checked with the hospital throughout the day. He hadn’t been able to see Kakashi yet, and it was making him nervous and fidgety.

His day had started with a splitting headache, but it was nothing that plenty of water and aspirin couldn’t cure. Jiraiya-sensei had slept on Minato’s couch. The two of them had had a quiet morning as they suffered together, Kushina having long since returned to her apartment. When Jiraiya and Minato had started to feel better, they had worked on seal creation for a while. They hadn’t done that in a long time, and Minato had needed the distraction. Minato had then left in time to take his remaining team members out for a late lunch before they walked to the hospital to check on Kakashi. Unfortunately, Kakashi was still in surgery. 

Minato had not realized when he had brought Kakashi to the hospital that his student was dying in his arms. His stomach knotted sharply. Rin had seemed to understand before he had. During Minato’s meditation, he had been able to recall her desperation. Her face had become pale, and she was shaking. Rin had protested moving Kakashi. She had tried to tell Minato to bring medics to Kakashi instead, but Minato had not been in the right mindset to listen to her. He wasn't sure if he would have made a different decision anyway. Kakashi had needed the hospital, and the sooner Minato got him there, the better. Minato could only hope that moving Kakashi hadn't caused any further damage.

Minato was alone in his apartment that evening. Jiraiya was out prowling the nightlife. Kushina had been by earlier, but Minato sent her home. She argued with him over it, but Minato assured her that he just needed some time alone. He was working on a seal when his phone rang. Honestly, it was a frightening sound. Despite owning a phone, Minato rarely used it. Shinobi preferred other ways of communication. Minato hurried to the phone, "Yes-umm…hello?" Minato cringed at his awkward greeting. He didn't get enough phone calls to practice it.

"Namikaze-san? Hatake-san is out of surgery. We were successful in reestablishing his chakra pathways. If you would like to see him tomorrow morning, our visiting hours are from-"

"Can I see him now?" Minato interrupted. "Please," he belatedly remembered to tack on for politeness's sake.

There was hesitation on the other end of the line. "My name is Akai Hane. Please ask for me when you get here."

Minato gripped the phone tightly. "I will be there right now." He hadn't bothered to put the phone down, letting it drop to the floor as he used hiraishin to get to the hospital. As usual, he startled the nurses and doctors when he arrived in the same spot he had with Kakashi just the day before. "I’m looking for Akai Hane,” he announced.

A woman hung up the phone and came up to him. “You truly are as fast as they claim,” wonder filtered through her voice.

Minato gave her a sheepish look, “Akai Hane?” The woman nodded her head and smiled at him.

“Please follow me. We have Hatake-san in our critical care ward,” she told him. The two walked together down a hall. It was after they turned a corner that Hane spoke again. “You saved my husband two years ago. His team was ambushed. A runner was sent for backup but would not have made it in time if you hadn’t intervened. You suddenly showed up on the battlefield like a phantom. Because of you, my husband was able to complete his mission and come home to me. Letting you see Hatake-kun is the least I can do. Thank you for saving my husband’s life.”

Minato blushed some but shook his head. “Kakashi-kun is very important to me. This hospital saved his life. For that, I am beyond grateful,” he told her honestly.

Hane smiled and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. “Of course, we all do our part. That is what being a village is all about.”

The two shared a happy smile, both feeling the warmth of being a part of something larger than either of them. Perhaps it was the Will of Fire radiating from them both. They had their roles to play, and because of it, they had both helped the other. They stayed quiet for the rest of the walk until Hane stopped at the door. She pushed it open to let Minato inside but froze as she went to enter. “Who are you?”

A man was in the room next to Kakashi’s IV. He looked just as startled to see them as they were to see him. The intruder’s eyes flashed gold, and he was gone. The nurse turned and shouted, “Code 50! Code 50! Room 114, Code 50!”

Minato ran to Kakashi’s side to check him over. Kakashi’s skin was pale as paper, and a new bruise was forming around his neck. The machines were all off. Someone was trying to assassinate Kakashi, and for the life of him, Minato could not think of why.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, I hope you enjoyed Chapter 2. I reuploaded Chapter 1 with several corrections. I've had a handful of people look over this story, and I can't say how thankful I am for it. They have been so generous with their time and ideas. Honestly, I found them in multiple places, so I don't know all their usernames, but they know who they are. Thank you! 
> 
> To my readers, I hope you'll consider sharing your thoughts with me. How do you think Kakashi is going to react when he finally wakes up? Until next time~
> 
> LaughingWombat


	4. Separation

The hospital staff had determined that Kakashi’s chakra pathways were still too raw to handle enhanced healing. The bruising around his neck was dark, but the x-rays of Kakashi's neck indicated it would heal fine on its own. 

Minato refused to leave Kakashi alone after the assassination attempt. In fact, Minato fully intended to move into the boy's room. Despite Minato's promise, he had yet to inform Rin or Obito that Kakashi's room was accepting visitors. Instead, Minato focused on trying to figure out why anyone would feel the need to assassinate an 8-year-old. Kakashi was a chuunin, but he wasn’t privy to anything worth the risk of infiltrating a hidden village. And yet, an assassination had been attempted, and by an unknown shinobi, at that. 

Minato looked to the door when he heard a knock. Jiraiya was leaning against the doorframe with a grin on his face. Minato, despite himself, felt relieved at the sight of the familiar smile. "You look like shit," Jiraiya laughed. "How long have you been here?" The large man walked over to Kakashi's bed.

Minato frowned and looked at the pale boy lying motionless in bed, "Since last night. I got the call after you left and managed to convince them to let me stay. It was a good thing I did, the nurse and I walked in on an assassination attempt on Kakashi."

"What?!" Jiraiya looked at Minato wide-eyed. "Are you serious? Why would anyone want to assassinate him?" Apparently, the news hadn't been brought to Jiraiya's attention yet. 

"It’s possible this isn’t the first attempt on his life if the initial reason he was put in this state was some sort of attack. However, the assassin attempted to strangle Kakashi this time.” Minato ignored Jiraiya’s question of motive. Minato didn’t have the answer to that. 

Jiraiya folded his arms and stared down at Kakashi. The boy was without his mask due to the ventilator he was on. “What did he look like?”

Minato released a heavy sigh and leaned back in his chair. “I saw him only for a moment, and the room was dark, but he seemed to almost glow. His hair, skin, and eyes were all pale. I’d almost claim he was a Hyuuga based on eyes alone, but when he went to disappear, they flashed yellow. When he left, I couldn’t find a trace of his chakra- just Kakashi’s. But Kakashi’s been leaking chakra so that it may have masked the assassin’s residual chakra signature. The doctors think the leaking is because his pathways are still healing and that it will clear up with time.”

Jiraiya nodded, “Sensei is likely already aware of the intruder, but I’ll go speak to him about it anyway. It seems odd that the assassin would use such a flashy attack and then use simple strangulation to finish him off. The initial attack must have taken a lot out of him.”

Minato sighed and raked a hand through his hair. “He would have died. Why try and kill an eight-year-old chuunin? He is just a kid.”

“I don’t know.” Jiraiya watched as Minato got up to pace the room. 

“I considered the idea that maybe it’s related to Sakumo. Since he was blamed for starting this war by choosing his comrades over the mission, it is possible someone is out for revenge. Sakumo committed suicide to atone for that. There is still gossip, but no one has been harassing Kakashi publicly over it." Minato certainly hadn’t felt that Sakumo had done anything dishonorable; others had not felt the same. Some still gossiped over it, but no one had moved to hurt Kakashi once his father died. “There’s no reason for anyone to go after Kakashi for Sakumo’s actions.”

Jiraiya remained silent and moved to sit in a chair. Minato’s eyes focused on the ground as he continued to pace and think aloud. “I’ve gone around and around on this. Kakashi has no secrets worth killing him over. He has only gone out in the field with me. I know what missions he has been part of, and he’s done nothing to warrant an assassination attempt. He has an impressive record for his age, but he shouldn’t have caught another village’s eye yet. I have worked hard to keep him under wraps, so no village should find him threatening. Not threatening enough to risk this level of infiltration, anyway. As for someone inside of Konoha, outside of a possible Sakumo connection, there’s nothing. Kakashi is an eight-year-old kid.” Minato stopped and held up his hands in a helpless gesture. “What am I missing?”

“Perhaps they are trying to get to you?” Jiraiya suggested.

“Me?” The thought had not occurred to him. “Seems rather cowardly to attack a child, doesn't it?”

Jiraiya shrugged, "if it keeps the Yellow Flash off the battlefield, I don't think they care." Jiraiya stood up and put a heavy hand on Minato’s shoulder. “I’ll talk to Sensei about this, see if we can get Kakashi some guards, and get you back on the field. This is likely bigger than Kakashi.”

“But Sensei, I can’t leave him,” Minato argued. The very thought of doing so filled him with dread. 

Jiraiya shook his head. “You can’t give them what they want. If they want you off the field, then we better make sure you’re on it.” With that, Jiraiya left, leaving Minato with a sick heart.

* * *

Minato found himself away from Kakashi’s side and standing in front of the Hokage sooner than he would have liked. The sandaime let out a heavy, smoke-filled sigh. “I’m sorry to hear about the young Hatake.”

Minato bowed. “Thank you, Hokage-sama. He has a strong will. We trust he will pull through.”

The sandaime nodded as if he agreed. “Kakashi-kun has always been exceptional. What has happened to him is certainly unusual. Jiraiya brought his theory to my attention, and I must agree with him. I cannot see a logical reason for Kakashi to be the target of an assassination attempt. It is more likely that the attempt was to distract you, and we cannot afford distractions.”

Minato had bit his tongue and clenched his hands together behind his back to keep his retort at bay. Kakashi was not a distraction. He was a valuable member of his team and their village.

The Sandaime plowed forward. “With this in mind, I will be posting two jounin to watch his room at all times until we get to the bottom of this matter. In the meantime, I will be assigning you a mission. You will head to the Iwa front and make your appearance known there. We cannot lie low right now. They need to know the Yellow Flash of Konoha is still on the frontlines. You can pick up your official orders from the mission desk.”

Minato bowed and went to leave only to be stopped by the Sandaime. “Minato-kun, I wouldn’t do this if I didn’t believe it was for the best.”

Minato could only nod. He didn’t trust his voice. His anger had a stranglehold on him. He disagreed with the Hokage’s decision, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t obey. He was a shinobi, after all. It was his duty to follow his Hokage’s orders. He would be Hokage one day, though, and then he would change things. Individual lives would matter, not just the image of the village. Kakashi mattered. Even if Minato had to obey, he wouldn’t allow them to change his views on that. Forcing Minato to leave his dying student felt cruel and unjust! What if Kakashi died while he was gone? What if he woke up and didn’t understand why Minato wasn’t there? What if Kakashi forgot everything? Who would take care of the boy? What if something happened to the rest of his team? Kakashi was taken down quickly; who was to say Rin and Obito would even survive such an encounter?

They were all still human, and that humanity was what made them strong, not that pretentious image of the village. The Will of Fire existed in everyone's hearts, and if they didn’t nurture it, then they would end up like young Kakashi. A boy who tried to kill himself daily to be the perfect tool the village wanted. Minato wanted to save the boy from that. It was hard to do when the Hokage- no, the village, considered a dying child to be a distraction.

Minato shook his head. He couldn’t continue this line of thinking. It was dangerous. Instead, he decided he needed his whole team around him right now. So, Minato headed to their homes to collect them and take them to visit Kakashi. The Uchiha compound was the furthest away, so he got Obito first. Obito lived with his grandmother since he was a war orphan. His grandmother wasn’t entirely there, so it was more like Obito took care of his grandmother instead of the other way around. Getting him away from the house could require some time. He may need to set things up for his grandmother before he could leave.

Minato knocked on the door and had to wait for a moment or two longer than most houses. Obito opened it up, his cheeks flushed but eyes bright. “Can we see Kakashi now?” He wasn’t even trying to act indifferent towards his younger teammate.

Minato put his hand on the top of Obito’s head. “He isn’t awake, but we can go see him. Will you help me pick up Rin?”

Obito blushed at the mention of Rin. “You bet, Sensei. Let me finish up.” Obito closed the door without inviting Minato in. Minato just stuffed his hands in his pockets and waited. Obito never invited him in; Minato assumed it had something to do with Obito’s grandmother. That is what Minato told himself, anyway. It was only five minutes before Obito was ready to go.

“Ready?” Minato asked.

Obito nodded his head. “Yeah. It was really weird, huh, Sensei? I just can’t figure out what hurt him.”

Minato rubbed the back of his neck as they headed out of the Uchiha compound. He hadn’t expected Obito to dive right into that topic. “I can’t either,” he admitted. Minato knew it had been some sort of attack. One that had flooded Kakashi’s system with his own chakra had enough force to knock him off his feet but only targeted Kakashi. There could not be many attacks that fit that description. Hopefully, their research would uncover it. “But that doesn’t mean we won’t figure it out. Kushina-san and Jiraya-sensei are both helping research what could have hurt him.”

Obito nodded, but his smile did not return to his face until they got to Rin’s. Usually, the boy chatted about his great future or his clansmen, but today he was contemplative. Minato decided to leave him alone with his thoughts. Minato had a lot on his mind, too.

Obito knocked on Rin’s door with excited thumps. The door swung open to reveal her mom. Minato and Obito both bowed politely. “Nohara-san,” Minato greeted, “I was hoping Rin-chan would be available to visit her teammate in the hospital with us.”

The woman looked a lot like Rin, but her hair was in a pixie style. She didn’t have the same purple marking her daughter sported because she was a civilian. Rin only had the marks because her father was from a shinobi family. “She is training in the back. Would you like to come in?”

Minato shook his head, “That would be difficult. We want to get to the hospital soon and see how Kakashi-kun is doing.”

Nohara-san nodded, her face falling, “I heard about what happened. Rin was devastated. I’ll go fetch her now.” The door closed, and Minato looked over at Obito. He was staring at his sandaled feet, his brows furrowed. Minato finally decided to ask him what was going on. “Are you okay, Obito? You seem stuck in your head.”

Obito blushed and fidgeted with his goggles. “Yeah, I’m just trying to figure out what I missed about the whole attack. Was there someone there? I just don’t remember. It all happened so fast.”

Minato took a moment before responding. It seemed they both were plagued with the same thoughts. “I understand. I keep looking for clues too,” he.

The door opened, and Rin appeared. Her face was red from exertion. “Sensei, Obito! Is Kakashi awake?”

Minato shook his head. “No, but he is out of surgery. I thought we would all like to see him together.”

Rin's face fell in disappointment, and why wouldn’t she be? They were all nervous. She quietly thanked them for picking her up. As Minato led the way, the two chuunins greeted each other, but then the group fell silent.

They arrived at the hospital and came across the two jounins assigned to guard Kakashi. One was sitting outside the door playing a crossword puzzle. The other was inside reading; he excused himself once team Minato came into the room. Minato could hear the two outside the door, chatting. He was glad to see that Hokage-sama had kept his word. Minato still didn’t like leaving Kakashi for a mission.

Kakashi’s eyes were closed like he was sleeping. His face was exposed to them, but neither chuunin made a big deal of it. Kakashi hardly looked like himself due to various tubes laid across him. The monitors around him beeped and hissed. 

Minato didn’t understand what all the numbers displayed meant. Still, nothing was yelling at them, so he trusted that Kakashi was stable. Rin was examining the medical chart while Obito wandered the room. Minato smiled at his young and gifted medic-nin. “Anything interesting?”

Rin nodded. “A lot. I wonder how they pieced his chakra system back together. I wish I could have been there for it, but it was probably good I wasn’t. It’s a miracle he survived such a thing.”

Obito joined them, looking at the chart too. His face scrunched up. “You’re amazing, Rin, that you understand this.”

Rin blushed at the compliment. “Thank you, Bito-kun.”

Obito looked pleased with her reaction and opened his mouth to continue, but Minato interrupted him. “Yes, well, there have been other developments. An assassination attempt was made on Kakashi. That is why he now has two jounin guards.”

The two chuunin gaped at Minato, “Wait, the attack was an assassination attempt, or was there another?” Rin clarified.

“There was another. An individual came into the room to strangle Kakashi. We happened upon him just in time,” Minato explained.

Obito swallowed his yell and then choked on it. He coughed and beat his chest for a moment. Minato looked at Rin. She was twisting her fingers and looking back at Kakashi. “Why is someone trying to kill him?”

That was the perfect lead in to the other news he needed to drop on his team. It was the most distasteful news, too. “We are not positive, but Hokage-sama believes these attacks on Kakashi are meant to distract me and keep me out of the war.” He almost shuddered at the word. It felt awful in his mouth and bitter to his heart to refer to all this as a distraction. But those were the words the Hokage used. “So, I will be returning to the frontline. I intend to leave this afternoon so I can utilize the darkness.” He explained to them.

Rin looked horrified. “But sensei, what if they come back?”

“There are two jounins stationed to guard him and-“

“And there’s me," Obito cut Minato off. The boy clenched his jaw as hard as his fists. Obito was very determined. It warmed Minato’s heart just as much as it froze it. He was glad to see Obito protecting his teammate, but Minato worried this was beyond his chuunin’s abilities. That was a strange attack that nearly killed Kakashi. Not even Minato himself knew how to defend against it or how to detect this enemy.

“Obito-kun.” Rin smiled, more reassured by Obito’s declaration than Minato was.

“Obito, Rin, if there is another attempt on Kakashi’s life and the jounin guards are engaged, get help. Don’t join in. Just run and shout so others will come. We don’t know who the enemy is, so do not engage him.” Minato ordered.

Obito’s face fell. “Sensei, are you seriously telling me to run away? I’m a shinobi!”

“And you’ll be a dead shinobi if you don’t obey,” Minato snapped. The hurt on the boy’s face made Minato regret his harsh words. “Obito,” he softened his voice, “I can’t have you hurt, too. I will be gone, and Kakashi is down. It’s just you and Rin right now. You need to do everything you can to take care of both your teammates, and that means getting help.” He said, putting his hands on Obito’s shoulders. He leaned down, trying to capture Obito’s eyes with his own. He needed to know Obito understood.

Obito stared at the floor, refusing to make eye contact with Minato, but he did nod his head. Minato supposed he was going to have to be satisfied with that. “Kushina and Jiraiya will also be around, don’t be afraid to rely on them, too. Get sleep, make sure you eat, and train. Now is not the time for this team to take a break. We need to stay at the top of our game if we are going to protect Kakashi. Alright?”

The two chuunin chorused their agreements. Minato could only hope everything would be alright.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry Kakashi didn't wake up in this chapter. He was really injured, and waking up so soon seemed like a stretch to me. Don't worry; in the next chapter, he absolutely does wake up. So let me know how you think the others will react to future Kakashi? Will they notice right away that he isn't himself? Looking forward to hearing from you!


	5. Woke Up

Kakashi became painfully aware of his entire body before he ever woke up. Every nerve ending and capillary, he possessed crackled and burned. It was overwhelming. Thankfully, the darkness soon took back over, taking him away from the pain.

The next time he returned to awareness, Kakashi thought he was on fire. He could feel the blisters inside of his body, and his head was being crushed under a boulder. The pain was overwhelming. He heard himself groan as he tried to shift, and then once again, he was pulled under.

Kakashi was later roused by a voice calling to him and telling him to open his eyes. Hadn't he just been trying to do that? Every time he tried to open his eyes, he was yanked right back into the void. Another voice joined in, calling his name, but Kakashi's brain was too shaken to figure out if he knew them. He wanted to believe he was dead, but he didn't think death would hurt this much. He moved his hand, and something squeezed it. That hurt, too. Why did they have to be so cruel to an old man? He wanted to tell them to let go, but his tongue felt like lead in his mouth, and all that came out was a pitchy whine. More voices, suddenly, and his eyes were forced open. Then someone rudely blinded him with a pinpoint light. Kakashi wanted to hit them, but his arms would not obey. His eyelids were released, but the pain remained. Voices babbled around him, and Kakashi tried to latch onto the sounds to decipher any words. It was exhausting, and after a few moments, he gave up trying. Kakashi felt whatever strength he had mustered slip away, and his mind soon followed. He knew nothing once more.

The next time Kakashi woke up, it was different. It was a lot quieter. No one was trying to break his hand or blind him. He also felt much more alert than he did any of the previous times he had regained awareness, the fogginess clouding his head still there but to a much lesser extent than before. He shifted his head, and tentatively opened his eyes. The room wasn't dark, but the lights were off. He heard beeping and looked over to see the monitor that displayed vital signs, which destroyed the last of Kakashi’s hope that he was dead. Kakashi had an awful talent for staying alive. He swore it was a curse. 

Kakashi closed his eyes and tried to remember how he ended up in the hospital again. Sakura would be in soon; she always seemed to know when he was awake. She’d lecture him aggressively and order him to stop being so reckless about whatever it was that he had done. She usually reserved her sweetness for people she didn't know, which Kakashi personally thought was pretty messed up. Then Naruto would come in yelling, and Sakura would yell over Naruto to shut him up, followed by her punching Naruto in the head. To end the comedic act, Sai would suddenly appear and make an uncomfortable joke that would shut all of them up. Tenzo would break the awkward silence with some well-intended wishes, which Kakashi would intentionally misunderstand. Sasuke was in the village. He’d show off his creepy stalker skills, take all of the attention off Kakashi, and greedily take it for himself. Kakashi loved his annoying team. He just wished they would find people to screw already; maybe it would calm them down.

Kakashi felt himself drifting back to sleep and forced his eyes back open. Sleeping wasn’t going to help him figure out what had happened. He stared at the ceiling while he tried to rally his memories. His mind felt like it was wading through molasses. Had he been fighting someone? Did a piece of construction debris fall on his head? Maybe he slipped in the shower? Kakashi hoped it wasn't that last one. Sakura wouldn't let him walk out of there without being covered in bubble wrap.

Why was Sakura taking so long? He needed water. Kakashi turned his head, hoping to see a pitcher and glass nearby. Instead, he saw a boy sleeping in a chair by his bed. All Kakashi could make out was dark hair. He wanted to paint Sasuke there, but the build was wrong, and the boy was too young. Sasuke wouldn't sleep in a chair like that, either, not with his head tilted back and mouth open. Kakashi noticed there was a second person by his bed, as well. Her hair was about Sakura's length, but it wasn't pink unless he was suddenly colorblind. She was holding Kakashi’s hand. Her chair was pressed against the bed, and her head was resting on the bed near his hip. Why were two strangers sleeping in his room? Surely, genins hadn’t been assigned to guard the Hokage? No, that was ridiculous. 

Kakashi slid his hand out of the girl's loose grip. She lifted her face to look at him. Kakashi knew he was dreaming. Rin Nohara was looking at him with sleep heavy eyes and a lock of hair stuck to the corner of her mouth. Logic would dictate, then, that the other boy was Uchiha Obito. Sure enough, when Kakashi shifted his eyes back to the boy in the chair, he could now make out the figure of his old teammate. Dream logic wasn't always logical so that they could change characters at any moment. He turned back to face Rin, who now looked as startled as Kakashi felt.

"Kakashi!" Rin screeched. The sound felt like a kunai being shoved into his skull.

Obito startled and jumped to his feet, then threw his arms over Kakashi in a hug. Rin joined in, and Kakashi didn't know what the hell to do. Two dead kids were hugging him. Hell, Obito died looking vastly different and acting differently than this. Holy shit, Obito was hugging him. Was Kakashi about to die? Wait, maybe this was a genjutsu? Kakashi didn't have enough chakra to break it right now. He struggled weakly against them. "Get off," he growled.

Rin and Obito pulled away with happy, childish faces. Kakashi glared at them both, but neither seemed at all bothered by it.

"We were really worried about you. I'm so glad you're awake," Rin chirped, hands clasped behind her back.

Obito blushed and sputtered a bit, "I-I wasn't! You shouldn't have passed out like that anyway. Jeeze, Bakashi, you made Sensei and Rin really worried, you jerk." Obito crossed his arms, but his blush remained present.

Kakashi stared at the two of them, his eyebrows forking down. "What?"

Rin cocked her head, "Are you okay? Do you remember who we are?"

Kakashi glared at Rin. He didn't want to speak their names in a dream or a genjutsu. "Yes, I know who you are supposed to be."

Obito frowned. "What the hell is that supposed to mean? Are you insulting us? Rin has been in here for weeks taking care of you!"

Rin put a hand on Obito's shoulder. Obito seemed to rein his temper back in. "Is something wrong, Kakashi-kun? I'll get a doctor. Maybe they can help. I think Kogetsu-sensei is working. She's really professional."

Kakashi frowned as Rin tugged on Obito's hand, urging him to come along. Rin didn't need help finding a doctor, Kakashi was sure, which meant she wanted to talk to Obito alone.

Seeing Obito gave Kakashi mixed feelings. There was still a sense of fondness, but it was overshadowed by the disappointment and grief he felt in his gut when he looked at them. Kakashi couldn't stay and deal with these two ghosts anymore. He shoved his blankets off of him and went to put his feet on the ground, hoping to make a hasty retreat. That plan went sideways, however, when the entire world tilted. Instead of the graceful landing he had expected, Kakashi crumpled to the ground. He felt the wires attached to him snag and be yanked off. The alarms screamed, and Kakashi cursed. He tried to scramble back to his feet, but he had no strength to stand. Unfortunately, Obito and Rin were at his side within a minute. Each one took an arm and hauled him up. That is when Kakashi noticed they were taller than him. How the hell were two kids taller than him? He looked down to see if he was kneeling, but his feet weren’t even touching the ground. Obito grabbed Kakashi by the waist and finished lifting him onto the bed.

"What the hell, Bakashi? You could have hurt yourself," Obito scolded him.

Rin fussed over him as the nurses showed up to put everything in their proper places and stop the screaming equipment. "You just woke from a coma, Kakashi; you shouldn't have even tried to walk yet."

Kakashi was too bewildered to respond. Why was he so short? Why were his dead teammates back? He scanned the room, expecting to see another face to fill out the team. "Is Minato-sensei here too?" he asked, afraid of the answer.

Rin and Obito shared a look, then focused on him again. "Umm, he is out on a mission, Kakashi," Rin said gently. "He wanted to be here."

"Oh." Kakashi wasn't disappointed. In fact, he was relieved. It just seemed odd for this dream or genjutsu or whatever it was not to include the Yondaime. If it was a genjutsu, Minato-sensei should have been the easiest to replicate because of how well known he was. Rin and Obito were nobodies, at least to the general public. Maybe this was a dream.

A doctor walked in, breaking the awkward atmosphere. "Hatake-san, welcome to the land of the living." Another strike against being dead. "Let's take a look at your vitals. Nohara-san, Uchiha-san, if you two would leave for a moment. I will let you know when you can return."

"We’ll be just outside, Kakashi,” Rin reassured him. Kakashi did not find that reassuring in the least. The two disappeared, and Kakashi looked down at his hands with a frown. They were so small. How could they be so small?

“Hatake-san?” Kakashi looked up to see the doctor scrutinizing him. “How is your head?”

Kakashi didn’t answer right away. Instead, he scrutinized the doctor right back. Her hair was piled up in the back, and wisps of it collected at the nap of her neck. The hairstyle wasn’t secure enough to last through a fight, so she wasn’t expecting to get into one. Her eyes were just a bit too close, and her nose was upturned. “I don’t know you.”

“I am Doctor Kogetsu,” she responded. “I have worked here for the past 12 years. I do not believe we have crossed paths before.”

“Interesting way of phrasing that,” Kakashi drawled.

“What makes it interesting?” Kogetsu asked.

Kakashi wasn’t sure he wanted to elaborate to a potential enemy. “My usual doctor is Haruno-sensei.”

Kogetsu looked a bit confused. “I am the head trauma specialist at this hospital. Do you remember what happened?”

Was Kakashi being interrogated now? Clever. They wanted to make him think he had a head injury and then have him spill the beans on his mission. Well, the joke is on them because he doesn’t remember it. “No.”

Kogetsu flipped through the papers on her clipboard. “It says here you were training with your team. The four of you were analyzing your session when you were struck with an unusual attack. Does any of this ring a bell?”

Kakashi’s mouth pulled down, and he studied the doctor in front of him. If this is a genjutsu, then what did the caster want from him?

At first, he had thought that whoever had cast the genjutsu had wanted information on whatever mission Kakashi had been on, which would explain the set-up of Kakashi in a hospital surrounded by loved ones and told he had experienced a head injury. In such a scenario, asking about the last thing he remembered wouldn’t be suspicious at all. But if that was the case, why make him young and surround him with teammates long dead? If the caster wanted to surround Kakashi with trusted figures to get him to open up, then it’s not like his students weren’t the world-famous heroes of the Fourth Great War. In fact, it was the very fact that he was surrounded by the dead that let Kakashi realize he was in a genjutsu in the first place. Otherwise, the genjutsu was frighteningly realistic, and Kakashi may have even fallen for it. No, there had to be a reason why the caster had wanted Kakashi to see his old team. But why? It was unlikely that the caster would be interested in information on the long-dead. If they were interested in some other information from this time in Kakashi’s life, then the head-injury set-up would make no sense. Kakashi continued to think it over furiously, ignoring his growing headache.

“I…no,” Kakashi said with more hesitation than he intended.

“What is the last thing you remember, Hatake-san?” Kogetsu’s voice softened a bit.

“I remember wanting to retire.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kakashi finally woke up! Took him long enough. I hope you enjoyed Ch. 4. Since Kakashi woke up to his dead teammates, how about you tell me the weirdest thing you ever woke up to? I look forward to hearing from you!


	6. Reunited

Minato ate dinner by the campfire with other shinobis stationed by the front lines. He had been here for nearly three weeks, and he desperately wanted to go home. According to Jiraiya-sensei’s updates, his theory was correct. There hadn’t been any more assassination attempts on Kakashi since Minato had returned to the front line. It bothered Minato that he had put his student in danger. The most recent letter said Kakashi showed signs that he would be waking up soon, but Minato still wasn’t allowed to return. Even with the signs, the doctors didn’t know when or if Kakashi would wake up. Kakashi could fall back into the coma. So, Minato tried to focus on the present. He listened to stories around the campfire and didn’t spend much time on his own. He didn’t want to think about who he had left behind in Konoha.

Camp Commander Inuzuka called for Minato. Minato flashed the storyteller an apologetic smile and passed off the last bit of his rice to the person next to him. Camp commander was an awful task that Minato happily avoided by taking on a genin team. “Inuzuka-san,” Minato greeted.

Inuzuka-san offered him a tired smile. “Come in. I have news for you.”

Minato felt the tension in his shoulders release. Inuzuka-san had smiled, so the news was likely good. Minato ducked into the tent and sat at the low table inside. “Water Namikaze-san?” Minato inclined his head, accepting the cup. “This arrived for you.” Inuzuka-san slid a letter across the table to him. The letter was already open and had been read. Nothing was private here.

Minato opened it and read it several times to make sure what he was reading was real. ‘Kakashi-kun has woken up. Sensei is allowing you to return as soon as you can.’ The letter was only two lines, but nothing could bring Minato more joy at this moment. He jerked his head up and looked at Inuzuka-san and noticed his smile had broadened, revealing his sharp teeth.

“I’m happy for you, Namikaze-san. You should go now before we need you.” Inuzuka-san jerked his head in the general direction of Konoha.

Minato jumped to his feet, and a smile split his face. “I will. Thank you, Inuzuka-san,” Minato bowed.

Kakashi was alive and awake. The worst had passed, and now Minato wanted to take his baby chuunin home and protect him. Minato knew Kakashi-kun would throw a tantrum about staying with Minato, but dammit, his kid nearly died. Whoever thought to hurt Kakashi like that would suffer.

Minato said his farewells and packed his things. He then used his Hiraishin to get back to Konoha as quickly as possible. Perhaps it was an abuse of the technique, but who was going to punish him for it?

By the time Minato got back, the sky was dark, and the streets were bare. He knew visiting hours at the hospital was over, but he hoped to sweet talk someone into letting him see Kakashi. Minato walked into the hospital and was immediately greeted by a nurse. Her sharp eyes scanned him for injury as she asked what the matter was.

“I’m fine. I was hoping to see Kakashi Hatake. I heard he was awake, and I only just got back from the frontlines,” Minato explained.

The nurse smiled up at him, “Oh, I can certainly make that happen, but only after you let me do your post-mission physical.”

Minato’s smile faltered. “I’ve been waiting for weeks to see him.”

The nurse picked up her book, “Visiting hours began at eight in the morning, Namikaze-san.”

Minato’s shoulders sagged, “I’ll do my post-mission physical.”

The nurse smiled and put her book away. “Excellent. It is so rare for a shinobi to follow through with his post-mission physical, Namikaze-san. You truly are one in a million.” She led him to one of the rooms, praising him as if she hadn’t just strong-armed him into submission. Was this what they were teaching Rin?

Minato was glad to be done with that ordeal. It wasn’t that physicals were that big of a deal, they were just time-consuming to do after every single mission. Sometimes, he hardly had time to sleep between missions. Post-mission exams were an avoidable evil, so nearly all the shinobis he knew avoided them. 

The nurse that bullied him led him to the ward Kakashi was in. She looked up his room number, but Minato could spot it easily. There was a chuunin guard standing outside of it who was looking back at him. Minato smiled as he approached him. “Thank you for watching over him.”

The chuunin smiled back and nodded. He looked young and eager to please. The chuunin’s team was likely assigned to this as soon as the Hokage moved the threat level down to C. Minato walked past him and saw two other chuunin inside. They immediately got to their feet. “We’ll just go outside,” the girl whispered and pushed the gawking boy out the door. Minato took one of the seats next to Kakashi’s bed.

Kakashi was sleeping. For a moment, Minato could pretend that his student hadn’t nearly died on him. The room was quiet, and the lights were off. Minato's eyes drooped as he was lulled off to sleep by Kakashi’s rhythmic breathing.

Minato woke up to Kakashi staring at him. Minato barely got a good morning out before Kakashi spoke, “I wondered when you were going to show up.”

Minato had not expected such a harsh greeting, “I had a mission, Kakashi-kun. I would have been here sooner if I could have.” Kakashi turned his face away from him and looked out the window instead. “Kakashi,” Minato’s voice became more commanding, but still, the boy ignored him. Minato had seen many sides of Kakashi, but this had not been one of them. Kakashi believed everything was permissible to complete a mission. Minato moved to the edge of his seat, “Kakashi, look-“

Doctor Kogetsu entered the room, cutting Minato off. “I heard you were here, Namikaze-san. Hatake-kun, how are you feeling this morning?”

Kakashi turned to look at the doctor. Minato saw a weariness settling on Kakashi’s features. He wasn’t sure if it was suspicion or exhaustion.

“The same as I was yesterday,” said Kakashi.

Kogetsu nodded, and her pencil scratched against a clipboard, “Yes, I expected you would. Even though we did our best to heal your chakra system, you would still experience some kind of chakra exhaustion. Then there is your head injury. You required stitches, and the swelling in your brain is worrisome.” Kogetsu tapped her pencil against the clipboard as she looked between Minato and Kakashi. “Hatake-kun, have you told Namikaze-san?”

Minato frowned and looked at Kakashi to see him glaring hard at the doctor. “We haven’t spoken about anything yet,” Minato supplied.

Kogetsu-sensei and Kakashi seemed to be having a battle of the eyes. “He is your legal guardian, Hatake-kun. Chuunin or not, you are not the age of majority yet.”

Kakashi didn’t react right away. He held on to his leveled stare at Kogetsu-sensei. Kakashi’s hands fisted the blankets, then suddenly relaxed. Kakashi’s entire form now screamed of exhaustion. “Maa, you would think if I am old enough to be sent off to war, I could make my own medical decisions as well.”

“You’re eight-years-old, that is hardly old enough to understand and make informed medical decisions,” Kogetsu-sensei argued.

“And yet it is old enough to go out in a war and make life and death decisions for his team,” Kakashi shot back.

“You have Namikaze-san to do that for you,” Kogetsu-sensei reminded him.

“Do I?” Kakashi drawled. That hurt. Was Kakashi that angry at Minato for not being there when he woke up?

“Kakashi,” Minato snapped. He expected that to be all the corrections his subordinate needed. “I apologize for his behavior Kogetsu-sensei.” Kakashi turned to look out the window. Minato frowned. Sure Kakashi had never been the most adept at manners, but he had never been this bad.

“Namikaze-san, I’ll speak with you outside.” Kogetsu-sensei moved back to the door. Minato stood up, his eyes still on the back of Kakashi’s head. He could see where they shaved it and the thread that closed his wound. The medics couldn’t heal him with chakra and resort to traditional methods. Minato left the room, and Kogetsu-sensei followed him out.

“Kogetsu-sensei, I apologize for Kakashi’s behavior. Usually, he is more polite than this. I’ll talk to him about it,” Minato tried to smooth down any ruffled feathers.

Kogetsu waved it off and tucked her clipboard under her arm. “It isn’t unusual for head trauma patients to act abnormally. Being rude is a low priority when it comes to the concerns I have for Hatake-san. He appears to think he is considerably older than he is.”

“Older?” Minato repeated.

Kogetsu-sensei nodded and pulled her clipboard back out. She flipped a few pages back, “33 is the age he gave me. He also insists that his doctor is Haruno-sensei, but there isn’t a medic by that name here.” She closed the clipboard and placed it back under her arm. “Hatake-san firmly believes he is in genjutsu and is unable to break it due to chakra exhaustion.”

“Why would he think this?”

“Coma, seizure, brain injury, or chakra damage. Take your pick. His mind has undergone an extraordinary amount of stress. How it chooses to protect itself, we can’t predict or even understand. We are only beginning to unravel the mystery of the brain.”

“So, what do I do?” Minato inquired.

“The same we treat victims that have been mind-raped during torture. We listen, do not discredit what they experienced, and root them in their current reality. Hatake-san may believe he has lived 33 years, but really, he is an eight-old boy. He needs people around to take care of him. He also needs people around to note unusual behavior and report them to me.”

“Are you already releasing him?” Minato asked, surprised.

“Oh, God, no. He will be stuck here for a while for observations and tests. But if you are going to keep visiting him, you need to understand what is going on. That and you are listed as his guardian.”

Minato took a deep breath and slowly released it. He had been worried about Kakashi dying before; now, he had to worry if Kakashi was even sane. It seemed like only time would tell too. “Who does he think put him into a genjutsu?”

“An enemy. He wouldn't specify who.”

“Not even Iwa or Kumo?” They would make the most sense to Minato since they were currently at war with them.

Kogetsu-sensei shook her head, “No, Hatake-san didn’t mention Iwa or Kumo as a possibility. He wasn’t willing to give me any specifics, either. Hatake-san seems to think this is an interrogation technique, and that we are trying to obtain information from him.”

“Kakashi-kun doesn’t know anything vital or especially important about Konoha,” Minato repeated the same argument that has been going on in his head since this mess began.

Kogetsu-sensei gave Minato an impatient look, and he immediately regretted saying what he did. “He thinks he’s 33 and a ninja of Konoha. Of course, he thinks he has vital information,” Minato corrected himself.

“It’ll take some time getting used to his new ‘background’ I’m sure. I’ll see about assigning him a therapist to help him cope if these delusions prolong. For now, I want to hold off on that and see if his mind resolves itself. I don’t want to stress him again so soon after so many injuries.”

Minato bowed, “I’ll entrust Kakash’s care to you. Thank you for all your hard work.”

Kogetsu-sensei bowed in return. “He is an interesting case. Hatake-san will have my complete attention,” she assured him. “For now, he needs to rest as often as possible. See that he is drinking plenty of water, even with the IV attached to him. Don’t stress him too much. Listen more than you correct him,” she instructed.

“I will,” Minato said seriously. Kogetsu-sensei walked down the hall, and Minato let out a heavy sigh. This was not what he expected. He hoped Jiraiya-sensei had found a lead on who had caused all this. He was eager to get his hands on them.

Minato walked backed into the room and found Kakashi asleep again. He was relieved. He didn't think he was ready for another interaction with him so soon. Minato had a lot to consider. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys so much for the reviews. Minato finally gets back to Kakashi, but that wasn't the greeting he expected. Do you have a funny greeting that you use to throw people off? I think I'm too boring to come up with one, so I need your ideas!


	7. Wingman

Minato knew he disappointed his young team. Rin and Obito wanted to visit Kakashi, but Minato sent them away with instructions to meet him at the training ground bright and early tomorrow. Minato did promise that they would see Kakashi together after training. Minato wanted a better grip on this 'new' Kakashi before bringing the kids into it, so Minato asked both Jiraiya-sensei and Kushina to visit Kakashi with him.

When Minato and Jiraiya-sensei got to Kakashi’s room, he was still sleeping. Jiraiya-sensei walked up next to Kakashi’s bed and stared down at the boy. Worry deeply creased Sensei’s face. At that moment, Minato was reminded that Sakumo-san had been Jiraiya’s close friend.

“Minato, Sakumo had asked me to watch over his son only a few days before he died. I told him not to talk like that. As if shutting him up would remove those thoughts from his mind. Then when Sakumo died, Kakashi seemed fine. But he wasn’t, was he?”

Minato moved to stand next to him, “I think Kakashi wanted to be fine.” Minato chanced a look at Jiraiya, “just like you wanted to be fine.”

Jiraiya looked at Minato and opened his mouth as if to say something. Nothing came out, though, and he walked away to claim a chair just as Kushina came into the room.

“Good morning!” Kushina said happily and dropped her bag on the ground. “I brought drinks, and-oh!” Kushina tried to lower her voice “he’s asleep, huh?”

Minato looked at Kushina fondly, “yeah, he is, but I think you woke him up.” Kakashi was turning in his sleep. The trio watched as Kakashi sat up and raked a hand through his tangled grey hair.

Kakashi looked up, and his face settled into a glare. "Did you sleep well, Kakashi?" Minato asked politely, trying to be delicate.

"Not well enough if I still see you here."

Kakashi knew how to stab with lethal force. Jiraiya barked out a laugh, which didn't help Minato's mood at all. He shot his sensei a look that was easily ignored by the jovial man.

Jiraiya leaned forward, a grin still stretching his face, but his eyes were challenging. "So, a genjutsu. What do you think they are after?"

Minato gapped at his sensei. Why would he just come out of the gate with that?

"If I told you, I would be telling them," Kakashi responded blandly.

Jiraiya leaned back into his chair with a chuckle. "Guess that is true, but why not break it?"

"Chakra exhaustion," Kakashi shrugged.

"There are other ways to break it. Have you tried pain?"

Kakashi gave him a flat look, “I’m not going to go stabbing myself while surrounded by enemy nin if that is what you are suggesting. Besides, if the pounding in my head is not enough to break this, then pain is not the answer."

"Haven't you recovered enough chakra by now? Once you notice you're in a genjutsu, it doesn't take much to disrupt your chakra flow."

Minato wanted to shut Jiraiya up, but he couldn’t get Sensei to look at him. Kakashi shouldn't be doing anything with chakra after blowing his system.

"There are genjutsu that don't work that way. The best users can trap you, and there is no escape until they choose to release you. Tsukiyomi is one such technique. I am sure there are others out there. Perhaps not that can do Tsukiyomi, as the Uchihas are all dead sans one. Still, similar techniques may exist,” Kakashi muffled a yawn at the end.

The trio looked at him, horrified. The Uchihas were dead? It was hard for Minato to even consider that possibility. They were such a large and imposing clan in the village. The Uchiha was the police force. They worked side-by-side with T&I. Did Kakashi's disdain for Obito lead him to fabricate a life that his teammate’s entire clan was eradicated? Kakashi clicked his tongue. "I don't know every technique in existence. If one person could do it, who is to say others can't?"

"The Uchihas are a big clan, ya know," Kushina spoke up. She glanced at both Minato and Jiraiya before focusing again on Kakashi, "it would take a lot to wipe them out. Konoha wouldn't allow that."

Kakashi's brows furrowed, "what?"

Minato didn't know what to make of Kakashi's confusion, but maybe it was the breakthrough they were looking for. If they could refute the loss of the Uchiha clan, then perhaps they could root Kakashi back into reality. Minato scooted further on his seat. "Kushina is right. Konoha would protect the Uchiha clan from threats. And they are so large that killing them off simply isn't possible, Kakashi,” Minato tried to keep his voice soothing.

"Konoha is the one that killed them. I made sure this was made common knowledge. Why would you pretend otherwise?"

Minato suddenly found it hard to swallow. What kind of world did Kakashi create that he thinks Konoha would destroy one of the founding clans? "Maybe you should get some more sleep, Kakashi," Minato said, standing up. "And not mention that again.” Minato walked out of the room with quickened steps. He ignored the surprised look on Kakashi’s face. Both Kushina-chan and Jiraiya-sensei followed him out.

"That was pretty messed up, ya know," Kushina stated the obvious.

Minato groaned and ran a hand down his face. "I don't think I realized his feelings toward Obito were so far beyond just annoyance."

"What? Do you mean it isn't normal to want to murder your teammate and everyone related to him?" Jiraiya grinned, and his shoulder bumped Minato. 

"Sensei, this isn't a laughing matter. How do I explain this to Obito?" Minato could see how poorly that conversation would go. He wouldn’t blame Obito for his reaction either.

Jiraiya still laughed despite being scolded. "Minato, Kakashi has a head injury. He thinks he is older than you and is stuck in a genjutsu. The boy has lost it," at least at this point, Jiraiya looked vaguely upset by that. "What exactly is there to explain? Don't read into the ramblings of a madman."

"How can you say that," Kushina demanded. She had stopped right there in the hall with her hands on her hips. She had a furious look on her face, and Jiraiya back-peddled holding his hands up in surrender. Kushina marched herself forward, and Minato moved up against the wall out of the line of fire. If someone were going to die, Sensei could be the sacrifice.

Kushina jabbed her finger against Jiraiya's chest. Minato knew from experience how much bruising she was causing. "Kashi-kun is a little boy who recently lost his father and now is being attacked in his village. If he needs to feel older, so he feels safer, then you are NOT going to mock him for it."

"Of course not, Kushina-chan," Jiraiya offered, "I didn't mean it like that."

Kushina didn't look completely satisfied with Jiraiya-sensei’s response, but she straightened up and gave an irritated hmph. Jiraiya-sensei wasn't out of hot water yet, but he wasn't in immediate danger of dying.

"Madman, I can't believe you called him that," Kushina grumbled as she stomped past Minato and Jiraiya and then swiftly turned back to them. To Minato's freight, Kushina pointed directly at him. "And you, don't go stirring up more drama than necessary. Why does Obito need to be told anyway? It's not like they haven't seen each other. Did you ever consider that Obito is the surviving Uchiha? That maybe he feels angry for how the clan is treating that boy? What kind of Sensei are you to have such a negative perception of your student?"

"I um-" Minato stuttered, not expecting Kushina to turn on him like that or for her to look so good doing it.

Kushina threw her hands up in the air. "You two are hopeless. How can you forget he is a child with no stability and no safety? When he gets out of that hospital bed, he is coming to live with me."

Minato blinked, "what? But I'm his guardian." He had planned to take Kakashi home.

"He is not a dog, Minato. Kashi-kun needs healthy food, lots of rest, and someone not to treat him like he is going to murder the next person he sees." Kushina crossed her arms and looked entirely unimpressed with Minato.

"I won't be like that," Minato argued. "I have known Kakashi longer, and he’s stayed with me before."

"And you let the poor boy go! No, Kashi-kun stays with me. I will keep him safe, so he doesn't have to feel like an adult anymore. Since his guardian is such a nincompoop."

"Nincompoop?" Minato repeated. "He wanted to go back. How was I to stop him? He was already the head of his clan." Their argument was beginning to garner attention from others. But this was Uzumaki Kushina; not many would be willing to stand up to her.

"A clan of one. How is that ahead? He isn't at the age of majority, Minato. You could have forced the issue. But you are terrified of him hating you, so you let a child make poor decisions!" she stomped her foot.

Jiraiya, the man without self-preservation, decided to insert himself. "You know there is an easy solution to all of this." Jiraiya-sensei’s grin showed nothing good was going to come from his next few words. "You two move in together and raise Kashi-kun together. It would be a good trial run for marriage."

The scream of rage that tore from the red hot habanero’s throat was not unexpected. Kushina-chan began to beat Jiraiya senseless. Minato knew Jirayai could handle it; his teammate had been Tsunade-hime. Minato mulled the idea over in his head and decided it wasn't a bad idea. "That is a good idea. I would like to try it."

Kushina stopped beating Jiraiya, and both of them stared at him. Minato just smiled back, refusing to recant. He liked the idea of living with Kushina and raising Kakashi together. Kushina's face became as red as her hair, and she released Sensei. She stuttered a few half-formed words, but Minato stayed quiet, wanting to hear her answer.

"Fine," was her first clear word, and Minato's heart soared. "But this doesn't mean we are together." She said and then dashed off. As far as Minato was concerned, that is precisely what it meant. But it was okay if Kushina-chan needed some time to figure that out.

Jiraiya-sensei whistled in appreciation. "That was ballsy, Minato. I didn't think you would use your student to claim a woman."

Minato’s smile turned into a smirk, "a shinobi must use every opening to his advantage. Kakashi-kun is giving me an opening, and I will exploit that. I'll thank him sometime."

Jiraiya laughed and put his arm around his student, pride radiating off of him. Minato joined in with his laughter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kakashi became Minato's wingman, and it cracks me up. Happy New Year! I hoped you enjoyed the chapter. I will be missing next week's update because I have heart surgery scheduled. This one is a minor procedure, and hopefully, we can avoid a major procedure, but everything is up in the air about it all. So please be patient with me. If things go south, it'll take me longer to update, but as it stands, I should only miss one update. I look forward to hearing from you on what you think of the chapter!


	8. Obito

Kakashi buried his face into the pillow. Everything hurt, his body ached, his head hurt, and his heart kept fluttering awkwardly, and that hurt too. They said it should all clear up as his chakra pathways healed. His head would take longer, possibly years. Blown pathways, it felt so much worse than chakra exhaustion. Kakashi wasn't even sure if anyone could survive that. However, he had an awful talent for surviving. 

The pain in Kakashi's head made it difficult to think. He slept a lot, causing him to lose track of days and weeks that passed. Kakashi had no idea how long he had been in the hospital. While his stay wasn't comfortable, he wasn't conscious most of the time. 

Kakashi had heard of Kogetsu-sensei from his time as Rokudaime. She had been the department head in the hospital specializing in traumatic brain injury, but she retired two years ago. Kakashi couldn't recall meeting her personally. That wasn't to say he never did, but the meeting didn't leave an impression.

Kakashi flopped onto his back and stared up at the ceiling. There was no light coming through his window, indicating it was night time. He heard soft breathing nearby and turned to see his childhood teammates sleeping in chairs by his bed.

This was either a genjutsu, coma dream, head injury, or time travel. Kogetsu-sensei perpetuated the head injury theory. He held plenty of respect for her services to Konoha's TBI Unit that she had founded. Still, Kakashi knew what he experienced in his life. The memories he had were not fake. Even without the Sharingan, he recalled them with clarity. So it was either a genjutsu, coma dream, or time travel. 

If Kakashi were in a coma, he would have expected to see a Yamanaka helping him leave. A Kage can't be sidelined for this long. Maybe for a week at most, allowing the body to recover as it deemed necessary, but Konoha produced the best healers in the world. There was no way they would allow him to stay adrift for so long. Between Sakura and Ino, he should have woken up by now. That left genjutsu or time travel. 

Kakashi had been assuming this was a genjutsu because it had seemed the most reasonable at first. But every day, the theory fits less and less. The information they asked for was meaningless. The people that were asking had long since been dead. Then there was the pain he was in. Pain is expected in a genjutsu, but typically it’s torturous, not a healing pain.

On top of that, he was often unconscious. What type of genjutsu user would allow his victim to remain unconscious most of the time? It would disrupt a genjutsu. But Kakashi was hesitant to cross it out because that meant only time travel remained. 

Time travel existed. Kakashi had experienced it once himself. Though it had been contained to a specific geographical location. He suspected Sasuke could time travel at will, but neither was willing to experiment with that. There was too much unknown. And honestly, Kakashi didn't want to change anything. Things turned out well in the end. They were finally experiencing peace. Yes, it was disappointing that so many did not get to see that peace, but would they hinder what was achieved if he kept them alive? Obito himself had been a significant player in bringing it about. If Kakashi saved Obito from the darkness, would that damn the whole world? Kakashi was the Rokudaime; he could not put his personal feelings above the needs of Konoha. Did Konoha need for Rin, Minato, and Kushina to die? Did it need for Obito to be twisted into the dark enigma he became? Could Kakashi turn his back to their cries for help and let them die, knowing there would be peace in the future? Were they necessary sacrifices? How terrifying was it that he sounded like Danzo right now?

Kakashi groaned and sat up. His head was too full, and he wished he could run from all the questions. Kakashi's eyes met Obito's, and guilt filled him. This Obito would be offended at his thoughts. He would call him scum, trash, friend-killer Kakashi. 

"You’re awake,” Obito whispered and glanced at Rin, making sure he hadn’t disturbed her. 

“How long?” Kakashi’s voice croaked. His hand went to his throat as Obito got up. Obito took a cup of water from the small table and offered it to him. Kakashi accepted it and drank it down greedily. He watched as Obito adjusted the pillows so he could lean back and remain upright. Obito then pulled a tray over and removed the cover. 

“Just over a day. Shorter than the last time. They said it means you’re getting better,” Obito said, his voice still hushed. He peeled the lid off the soup and traded Kakashi for the empty glass. Obito filled the glass up again and returned it to the tray. Kakashi watched with fascination. Obito moved around as if he could predict every need Kakashi would have. Like he just knew what needed to be done. It was odd. 

“You need to drink the broth. It’s just miso, but the nurses said it would help. We gotta get you back on your feet before you wither into nothing,” Obito urged. 

“You’re exaggerating,” Kakashi muttered, but obediently took a drink of the cold soup. 

Obito gave him a critical look, "You can't see yourself." 

Kakashi couldn't remember the last time someone looked at him with such concern. The fact that it was coming from Obito made it more surreal. 

"They had a sliced apple on the tray for you. We thought you were going to wake up a couple of hours ago. Anyways, I sealed it so it wouldn't turn brown."

Kakashi blinked, "You wasted a sealing scroll on an apple?"

Obito blushed as his face pinched into an angry pout, "Do you want it or not?" 

Kakashi didn't. He wasn't sure he even wanted the soup, but the kindness and generosity Obito had displayed left Kakashi feeling unbalanced and obligated. "Yes, please."

Obito smiled, and Kakashi decided he could handle eating a few slices of apple for him. A small puff and a sliced apple appeared on the tray. Sure enough, Obito wasted a sealing scroll on him. It was the most thoughtful thing anyone had ever done for him. Kakashi would have to buy Obito a scroll to replace it and another as a thank you. Kakashi put the soup down and reached for an apple slice. 

"I was umm...thinking," Obito started, and he looked embarrassed again. "When they release you well, I mean...they would release you sooner if you weren't ya know...going home alone. I already take care of my Grandma. She doesn't walk too well anymore. So she wouldn't know you were there. And it wouldn't be much different, ya know? Cause I already take care of her, and you could get out of here sooner."

This wasn't time travel. It was dimensional travel. Obito was offering to take care of Kakashi like Obito takes care of his grandmother. He takes care of his grandmother? How bad did Kakashi look that Obito compared him to his grandmother?

His face must have been really expressive because Obito stood up and pushed him back against the pillows. "Don't pass out on me, Bakashi." 

Kakashi still had the apple clutched between his fingers as he stared up at Obito. "That's an unexpected offer, but I don't think the Uchihas would allow it."

"They don't have to know," Obito argued, his voice rose in volume. "It would be a secret."

"They're Uchiha, they would know," Kakashi countered.

Obito's face turned into a bitter sneer. "Ya, they would know." He sat back down, pouting. 

Obito really had wanted to take him home, Kakashi realized. "Why would you want me around anyway?"

Obito turned to look at him aghast. "You gotta stay alive, so I can beat you, and you need to see me become Hokage." Again Obito's voice volume jumped, and Kakashi heard Rin stir. 

Obito would never become Hokage, and Kakashi lost Obito's eye before he could show him that he had achieved Obito's dream in his honor. Kakashi felt his eyes water at the heavy loss over this kind of child. Here he was considering sacrificing Obito for the sake of peace, and Obito had been planning to bring him home and nurse him back to health. 

"Ah, Kakashi, are you in pain?" Obito must have noticed the tears. 

Kakashi rubbed his wrist over his eyes to wipe the tears away. "Just dust." 

"Oh. That happens to me too," Obito said, causing Kakashi to give a raspy laugh.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys so much for the well-wishes regarding my surgery. It was extremely successful! I'll find out in a few weeks if I managed to push back open heart surgery for another few years or not. I think I did! 
> 
> I really love this chapter, so I hope you guys enjoyed it too. Let me know what you think!


	9. Moving Forward

During the morning, Minato arrived at Kakashi's hospital room to see his two chuunins chatting while Kakashi slept. Rin smiled brightly at his arrival and reached over to shake Kakashi awake. "Ah, Rin, you don't need to do that-" Minato tried to stop her. Kogetsu-sensei insisted that Kakashi sleep as much as possible. She had warned Minato not to wake him up.

"He asked us to. He was awake earlier, and before he went back to sleep, he asked us to wake him up when you came."

Minato wondered if this was a good thing or not. So far, Kakashi has done little more than glare at him. But the fact that Kakashi could be woken up was a good thing. Minato looked forward to when Kakashi's chakra pathways were recovered enough that they could accelerate his healing. This slow 'normal' process was nerve-wracking. Kakashi had lost so much weight through it too.

Kakashi sat up and stifled a yawn. Minato smiled when Kakashi's hair flopped over and into his eyes. It was nice to see his exposed face so often now too. The oxygen tube in his nose blocked off enough of his hyper senses that going without his mask wasn't too much of a problem. 

"Good morning, Kashi-kun," Minato greeted his exhausted student. Rin and Obito snickered at the childish nickname. Kakashi raised an eyebrow at him but muttered a greeting in return. Minato had dropped the old moniker when their team had expanded per Kakashi's request. 

Obito was pushing a glass of water into Kakashi's hand. "Drink that, and then you need to finish your miso from last night."

"Can't I have warm miso," Kakashi complained? 

"Oh! I can go get some," Rin offered and skipped out to get the miso. Minato was a bit surprised by the turnaround of things. He had expected Rin to be the one playing nurse, not doing the fetching.

Minato found a seat and pulled it up close as he watched the boys interact. Kakashi certainly didn't act like he wanted to murder Obito. Perhaps Kushina had been right in her interpretation, or maybe Kakashi had recovered and no longer believed the artificial world he created for himself. Minato felt he could not ask that straight out, though. His other students didn't seem to be aware of Kakashi's delusions.

When Obito had finished fussing with the pillows, he took the glass of water back when Kakashi had finished it off. Minato decided to try and talk to Kakashi. "How are you feeling today?"

Kakashi shrugged. It was an unhelpful response, and Minato's hopes sunk a bit. "Well, I can't stay for too long. I have an appointment this morning to see a new apartment," Minato announced.

"You're moving, Sensei?" Obito asked. It probably seemed like an odd time to choose to move to them. 

Minato smiled, "Yes, I need a larger space since Kashi-kun is moving in with me," and Kushina-chan, but he could reveal that later. He was a bit giddy about it all. 

Kakashi's brows furrowed, and his lips pursed for a moment. "Why does everyone want me to move in with them?"

"Huh?" It was Minato's turn to be confused. He saw Obito blushing, and his heart swelled with pride. Obito had put aside his rivalry with Kakashi and offered to help his teammate! He would sing his praises on top of the Hokage mountain if it was socially acceptable. 

"I'm not living with you either, Sensei."

Minato raised his brows at Kakashi's tone. He hoped Kakashi hadn't been this rude to Obito too. "I didn't say you were getting an option. One, I am ordering you as your jounin commander. Two, you are not the age of majority, and I am your guardian; I am forcing you. The only option I am giving you is what color you would like your room to be?"

He wanted to giggle at Kakashi's face. With no mask, he could see his mouth drop in agape. "I'm not-" he seemed to choke on his words. A strangled noise, and then he continued quieter, "I'm not a child."

Grey eyes implored him to understand. Minato could read them. When had Kakashi's gaze become so readable? "Kakashi," Minato kept his voice measured with no leeway, "I already told you this wasn't up for debate."

Kakashi frowned and shook his head. "No, this isn't- You didn't do this the first time. Why would you do this now?"

Minato thought back to after Sakumo's death. "I should have forced you to stay the first time. I won't make that mistake again," he promised. Kakashi didn't seem at all reassured by this. Minato pulled his smile back on. "I should have everything settled by the time Kogetsu-Sensei is ready to release you. So, what color would you like?"

"Do blue," Obito grinned wide as Rin walked in with a sealed cup of warm miso. 

"Blue what," Rin asked curiously. 

"Kakashi is moving in with me, and I asked what color he wanted his room," Minato caught her up. 

"Oh!" She handed the cup to Kakashi, who accepted it while looking more exhausted than before. "That's great! I offered to let him stay with my family too, but I think this is an even better idea." 

"Everyone is crazy," Kakashi opened the sealed container. 

"No, Kakashi, we're a team. Teams look out for each other." Minato knew this was likely a new concept for Kakashi. He never understood that he needed to rely on his teammates. 

"What about a warm cream color? It'll look nice in the morning," Rin supplied helpfully. 

Kakashi swirled the soup in his cup. "I really don't think this matters. Why does it even have to be a different color?"

"It doesn't. I just want to make sure you are comfortable." Minato hoped Kakashi could see how sincere he was, but the boy was pouting. It wasn't something he often saw, especially without a mask. It was a resigned look with a slight mouth pucker. 

"Anyways, I'm glad you are doing better. I should get going. I'll stop by again later." Minato stood to his feet and grinned at his young team. 

"Sensei," Kakashi's voice sounded very exasperated, and it caused his grin to brighten just a bit more. "It's overkill to move and pay more in rent just to give me a place to recover. What would you do with space afterward?" 

"After? You have a few years left before you turn 12, Kakashi. I'm not that concerned. Even then, there would be no reason for you to move out."

Minato had to swallow his laugh when Kakashi stared at him, horrified. Obito was cackling, and Rin was giggling behind her hand. Minato decided to make his escape before Kakashi's mouth started working again. He winked and shushined out of the room. Once he was in the hall, he allowed himself to laugh. It wasn't often he could have such a laugh at Kakashi's expense.

Minato had a bounce in his step as he made his way down the hall. Today was going to be a great day as he goes apartment hunting with his girlfriend (though she wasn't acknowledging their relationship yet) and future wife. Kakashi was healing and has possibly overcome that weird coping skill. Things were looking up.

* * *

Minato heard Kushina before he caught sight of her. It was a relief to hear her happy chatter because it meant she wasn't backing out of moving in with him. The thought sent a giddy shiver up his spine and pulled a smile on his face. He rounded the corner and saw his girlfriend's bright red hair flaring in the bright sun. She was chatting animatedly with who he assumed was the realtor. What he didn't expect was to see Jiraiya-sensei with them. 

As Minato approached the group, his heart sputtered to a stop when Kushina noticed him and stop mid-sentence to smile at him. Kushina had stopped talking to greet him. He didn't get the chance to relish in that radiant smile because Jiraiya-sensei threw his arm around his shoulders, demanding Minato's attention. 

"How's your boy doing," Jiraiya-sensei asked.

Minato looked from his sensei to Kushina. "He seems to be in good spirits. We can wake him from sleep now, which is a huge step in the right direction. Hopefully, his chakra pathways will be able to tolerate healing chakra soon."

"Your son is in the hospital," the realtor asked gently.

"Umm, no-"

"Yes," Minato quickly cut Kushina off. It was better to get the rumor out there, so everyone would know if you messed with Kakashi, you mess with Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki. "Our son, Kakashi, was injured recently. He is in the hospital right now. We hope to pick a new place quickly and have everything settled before his release." 

Minato ignored Kushina gaping at him. He supposed he had never run this Kushina, but she had agreed to raise Kakashi with him.

"I suppose we have no time to spare," the realtor said and went to lead them to the first location. Minato and Jiraiya hung back, talking quietly.

"I haven't found any leads here on the jutsu used, even among Sensei's archives, " Jiraiya admitted. 

Minato frowned, but he hadn't found anything either, even among theories. "We have to keep looking or capture this guy."

Jiraiya nodded grimly. "I also have to return to my own mission. You need to be careful, Minato. Sakumo was my friend, and I was the one that originally paired you and Kakashi. But at the time, I didn't know what was going to happen. Taking Kakashi in and claiming him, as you are, is painting a target on your back. We don't even understand this guy's attack. With the war going on-Minato we can't afford to lose you too. You're making a name for yourself out there. If you didn't already have guardianship over Kakashi, you wouldn't be able to get it now. But that doesn't mean the council won't take it away if they get wind of this. We have been trying to keep this quiet, but it is hard knowing there might be an intruder in Konoha."

Minato frowned as he absorbed what Jiraiya said. He hadn't considered his growing fame would cause the council to strip him of his guardianship. The council may even emancipate Kakashi and send him straight to the front line. There would be nothing Minato could say to that. "I'll adopt him."

"Minato," Jiraiya snapped. 

Minato glared at his teacher. "I'll adopt Kakashi, and then the council can't say anything. I'm an orphan, and Kakashi is the last of a disgraced clan. There is no clan honor at stake here. What shame could there be with a clanless man taking in a clanless child?" 

"The council won't approve," Jiraiya argued.

"Then it's a good thing adoption doesn't go through the council," Minato pointed out. 

"Kakashi is a shinobi, so the Hokage will still have to approve."

"Then you have until you return to your mission to convince Hokage-sama."

The two men had stopped to have their heated discussion forcing Kushina and the realtor to backtrack to them. Jiraiya relented first, "you're playing a dangerous game Minato. You'll make a lot of enemies this way, and enemies at home are not what you want in a war." 

Kushina frowned, "Minato, what are you scheming about now?"

"I am adopting Kakashi. Some information was brought to my attention, and it seems to me that this would be the best route." It really wasn't. Minato knew the smart thing was to continue as he had been, helping Kakashi from a distance. If Minato brought Kakashi home and then sent him away after he recovered, no one would bat an eye. But taking in the disgraced Hatake child was bound to piss people off that blamed Sakumo for the war. With Sakumo gone, Kakashi had to shoulder the blame for the war. Minato was running a risk politically just associating with Kakashi. Going further than helping was like stabbing himself in the foot. Yet, Minato was willing to risk it. How could he ever hope to be Hokage if he can't even take care of his precious student? 

"Wow," Kushina's eyes widened, "really? Why? Not that I'm against it, ya know."

"Sensei thinks the council will remove Kakashi from my guardianship. If he is adopted-"

"Then it strips what hold the council has over him for the next few years," Kushina finished for Minato. "You really think they would do that?"

"It's hard to tell sometimes what the council will do. They may just ignore the whole thing, but if they feel that Minato is being distracted or that Kakashi is becoming a liability," Jiraiya left it hanging. They could all see where it was going. 

"Should I be a part of this then? If you and Kakashi are going to be a real family, then I don't want to intrude, ya know," Kushina said, unsure.

Minato sighed. He loved Kushina, but sometimes she could be slow. "Kushina-chan, you'll be a great mom to Kakashi. You knew what he needed before either of us did. So, how can we be a family if you are not there?"

Oh, Kushina's face went as red as her hair again. She turned on her heel with a "whatever" and dragged along the poor realtor. Minato was going to have to get the paperwork done quickly before the council gets wind of it. 

"Guess I'll talk to Sensei," Jiraiya-sensei's voice was still tense. 

"Thank you," Minato nodded, knowing Jiraiya disagreed with this but was willing to help Minato anyway. 

"Just be careful, Kid." Jiraiya left, and Minato went to chase after his future wife. Minato may be going about things a little backward, but they'd make it work. He knew what he wanted. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Minato moves at his own speed, and he can be really pushy about things when he wants to be. Don't mind him; he's just a man that takes what he wants. Regarding adoption and orphans, Japan doesn't have a strong history of adoption. There's a stigma attached to adoption there. Also, Kakashi is currently shouldering the blame for his father regarding the third shinobi war. So Minato is really putting himself in a bad position with all this. I just thought I'd explain that a bit. 
> 
> Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Tell me about a time when you did something that someone warned you not to do. Did it turn out in your favor, or should you have listened?


	10. Frustration

Minato left the hospital room to start his search for a new place to live. He left as quickly as he came as if he didn't just drop an explosive tag into Kakashi's life. Kakashi wished he could panic, but Obito and Rin were still in the room. So, Kakashi settled for pretending to sleep as his mind raced. This could not be time travel. He fucked up too many things already. Kakashi had been too loose with information on the future. This had to be a genjutsu. The enemy was just tying the noose around his neck, is all. The enemy could not leave Kakashi alone for any length of time, so they put in fake teammates and a Minato-watcher. Was it sad that he really really wanted this to be an interrogation? 

In the past, Kakashi had never lived with Minato-sensei aside from the brief stent directly after Sakumo's death. He had also stayed as a guest from time to time, but Kakashi had his own place. Sensei had trusted him to take care of himself since he was six. How ironic was it, at 33-years-old, his sensei decided he couldn't handle taking care of himself? 

"Are you cold, Kakashi?"

Kakashi cracked open an eye to look at Rin's kind face. "No, but maybe you can help me." He sat up as his brain formulated the barest of plans.

Rin's face lit up, and he could see Obito frowning. Kakashi ignored his jealous teammate for Rin, who would most likely have success with reasoning with Minato-sensei. "Rin, this is of the utmost importance. You cannot fail in this mission," Kakashi's voice was grave. He waited for her to realize the weight he was putting on this. Even Obito was eager to hear this mission. "I expect you to use any means necessary, including but not limited to extortion and bodily harm, to convince Minato-sensei that I should not move in with him. I am perfectly capable of managing my own affairs."

Rin had never looked so unimpressed with Kakashi in his life. Obito was actually howling in laughter. "I'm serious," Kakashi stressed while trying to ignore Obito. It wasn't that funny. 

"Kakashi-kun," hope wilted inside of Kakashi when he heard Rin's medic-nin's-lecture tone, "you were seriously injured. You nearly died from an unknown attack. You NEED someone to take care of you."

"Rin, he wants me to-" Kakashi turned and threw an empty styrofoam cup from his soup at Obito. "Knock it off." He growled and went back to focus on Rin. "Rin, what Minato-sensei wants is excessive. I don't need to live with him for the next few years." Kakashi wanted to add that he was too old for it, but no one currently believed him. Even with a Yamanaka mind probe, they would likely call it all a mental construct. "Please, Rin. I can't live like that. You know how he is."

"It won't be that bad, Kakashi-kun," Rin smiled, but Kakashi quickly saw through it. Rin was silently laughing at him. "Having parents is really nice. I mean, Sensei isn't trying to take the place of YOUR parents. He isn't like that. Having someone to rely on at home is really nice, though. I think you'll like it."

"Rin, that's not-I'm not-" worried about Minato replacing Sakumo? That hadn't even crossed his mind. If Minato was always around, Kakashi wouldn't have the freedom to figure out how to get back to his time. 

Rin put her hand on his shoulder, "you should tell Minato-sensei. I'm sure he'll tell you the same thing. Then you will feel better about it."

Even kids were treating Kakashi like a kid now. Where had he gone wrong in all this? Would playing along get him what he wanted? The thought of using his father that way left Kakashi feeling unsettled, and it might only make things worse. He needed to prove he wasn't a child that needed care.

But maybe Kakashi was worried over nothing. Once Kakashi recovered, it wasn't likely Minato would actually force him to stay. Minato-sensei was just overprotective. Feeling a bit better about things, Kakashi relaxed back against the wall in time for the cup to sail past his face. 

"Dammit, you moved Bakashi!"

Kakashi looked up at the ceiling, trying to conjure the patience he crafted from being a jounin sensei. Then remembered half the time he tried to escape his students by being late or ditching them. "You are supposed to predict movement." 

"Shut up," Obito pouted. 

Kakashi stared at him. Obito was far more impressive in his time-washed memories. He didn't remember Oboito being this childish. Childish right? That was the polite term for stupid if he remembered correctly. 

####

It was the next day when Minato-sensei returned to his hospital room to meet with the Kogetsu-sensei. Minato-sensei was sitting in a chair near Kakashi's bed, and the doctor stood near the door. Kogetsu-sensei tapped the top of her clipboard with a pen. "Kakashi is progressing along nicely, all things considered. His chakra pathways have finally stabilized. We intend to start chakra treatment for his head injury and the internal injuries he suffered from the damaged pathways soon. Most of it should be healing fine on its own, but it would be nice to quicken it along. What do you think, Kakashi-san?" 

Kakashi wanted to respond with a snarky remark. They had cared very little about his thoughts on his medical before this. They deferred to Minato-sensei instead. He had a more pressing question, though. "Do I get to leave soon?"

Kogetsu-sensei nodded. "In just a few days. That doesn't mean you are ready to go on missions or even train. Your body needs rest to recover properly," she gave him a sharp look of warning, and her voice was stern.

"I have slept more in the past month than I do in a year," Kakashi complained.

Kogetsu-sensei's mouth twitched in amusement. "Yes, well, there is still more resting ahead of you, as well as a diet change. You are underweight now. I'll be sending a list of meal suggestions with your guardian since you will be released into his care." She passed off two pieces of paper to Minato-sensei. Kakashi wondered what was on it. He had never been on a dietary plan before outside of mission rations. 

"I'll be sure to follow it," Minato agreed while scanning the papers.

Kogetsu-sensei continued with her update. "The swelling in Kakashi's brain has gone down considerably, and his incision is healing nicely. It'll leave a scar, but so long as balding is not in your future, no one will ever know."

"It's not," Kakashi replied dully. 

"Speaking of which, how are you adjusting to being eight again," she asked as she tucked the clipboard under her arm.

Minato-sensei tensed at the question. He was apparently uncomfortable with this topic. Well, Kakashi was uncomfortable about living with him. Yes, he was petty right now. 

"Maa, it's a pain in the ass. Everyone talks to Sensei instead of me."

Kogetsu-sensei nodded as if she could sympathize with him. Kakashi didn't buy it. "It does seem odd considering this is supposed to be an interrogation jutsu," Kogetsu-sensei said inquisitively.

They all thought Kakashi was bat shit crazy. He decided to seal the deal with the truth. "Nah, it's not. The moon isn't red. Saw it the other night. It's time travel this time." 

"Kakashi," Minato-sensei sounded so disappointed in him, he nearly apologized. 

"Time travel, is that real?" Kakashi had to give Kogetsu-sensei credit. She sounded like she believed him. Obviously, she did not, since she was the one pushing the coping mechanism theory. 

"I've done it once before with Sensei, actually, but he doesn't remember it. The memory of it got locked away once the mission was complete. It was only after I became high enough rank and heard about it from the other side that it was unlocked for me. Besides, I have a student I am fairly confident can time travel at will. We just haven't been brave enough to test the theory."

Kogetsu-sensei whipped her clipboard back out and began scratching notes on it. Kakashi wondered how much paperwork this was going to cause her. It was unlikely that he would be allowed to continue his shinobi career if he continued his ramblings, but Kakashi had wanted to retire anyway. 

"Student? You're a jounin sensei," Minato-sensei asked curiously. 

Kakashi had not expected Minato-sensei to play along. Sensei had always been so adamant about correcting Kakashi. "Yes. Well, I was. They are not genin anymore," His lip twitched up into a smile. Then he amended, "Well, one of them isn't. The other two still technically are. I could promote them several times over, but it amuses me too much. And they can't test because they're monsters, and it would be unfair to the rest of the competition."

"I don't think I have ever pictured you as a jounin sensei," Minato-sensei cocked his head.

"Maa, neither have I, but the Sandaime was determined. Managed to hold out by failing three teams. Then he stuck me with a team I wasn't allowed to fail. Almost failed them anyway. They were such a mess. One of them couldn't do basic jutsu or kata. One had talent and was hardworking, but his personality was toxic. Then the last one was attracted to that toxic personality and couldn't seem to focus on anything else. They were awful," Kakashi couldn't help but smile, thinking of them. They had been good kids, and they figured it out in the end. "Ah, but enough about my cute students. Are you sending me to the psych ward now?"

Kogetsu-sensei looked up from her notes, "No, you're not crazy, Kakashi, you're recovering. Things will fall into place eventually."

"You have so much confidence in me," Kakashi responded blandly. 

Kogetsu-sensei hugged the clipboard to her chest. "You survived the impossible, Kakashi-kun. By all accounts, you should be dead, and yet here you are. We have wonderful doctors here, but it was you that kept yourself alive. I have every confidence in you."

Kakashi hadn't expected something so heartfelt. He didn't know what to do with it. His ability to survive anything and everything was not something he ever considered worthy of praise. Kakashi felt like a parasite most times and was frustrated by his lack of dying on others. He chased death only for it to elude him at every turn. Kakashi looked away, not able to find anything to say to that. 

"How old are you again," Kogetsu-sensei moved on.

Kakashi made an irritated noise and rubbed his hand over his face, and putting uncomfortable pressure on the oxygen device in his nose. "I am 33."

"What rank are you?"

"Are we filling out my dating profile? Make sure you add I am good at restraints," Kakashi dropped his chin in his hand.

Minato-sensei made a strangled noise, and Kogetsu-sensei actually blushed. Kakashi smiled at them. The silence was wonderfully awkward. 

Kogetsu-sensei cleared her throat, "Well then, perhaps you should get some more rest." She walked swiftly out the door, not bothering to see if they had questions. Kakashi mentally patted himself on the back for dodging that conversation. 

Minato eyed him. "You did that on purpose," he accused.

"Hmm," Kakashi turned to his teacher, "I don't know what you mean."

Minato shook his head, "Maybe you just don't understand what you said."

"Of course, I do, Sensei. If you ever need a lesson on bondage-play, I know several rope knots that are fun." Kakashi had honestly never seen his teacher become so pale. To be fair, his high squeaky voice saying this shit disturbed him too. 

Minato shook his head, "Did Jiraiya-sensei put you up to this?"

Kakashi was offended. Surely, Minato-sensei didn't think him a virgin at his age-wait, was he? If this is time travel and Kakashi is eight, then does his previous experience supersede his current physical experience, or does his current physical experience erase his previous experience? 

Maybe Kakashi should read a book on it. He doubted anyone has written on the laws of time travel and sex, but it seemed like an important topic to cover. 

"Kakashi-kun, you know I am here for you, right? Whoever is trying to hurt you will have to deal with me first." Minato dragged Kakashi out of his thoughts and into the present. 

Kakashi mulled over Minato's words as he thought about his own students. Kakashi walked through a lot of shit for them. He had to deal with a lot of fallout with Sasuke's return and his desire to travel freely. Kakashi had to deal with the general uneasiness over Naruto's partnership with Kurama after the shinobi world just dealt with the ten tail jinchuuriki. The general population was not eager to embrace these violent balls of chakra. Not even Sakura was drama-free. Tsunade-sama had retired and placed Sakura high position at the hospital, much to other staff's irritation. Kakashi could understand to a degree. Sakura was still young, and they had been there for years. Those that felt slighted had not been able to complain to Tsunade-sama herself, so when he took office, they thought it was their chance to correct it. 

"I know, Sensei. Because I would kill anyone that harmed my students," Kakashi's voice didn't offer the intensity he was going for, but the meaning still struck home. 

Minato gave him a relieved smile, and Kakashi decided to burst his bubble. "But I still wouldn't allow them to move in with me." That earned Kakashi some laughter. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kakashi decides to let them think what they will. Lol. Why fight it? Everyone is making their own assumptions about Kakashi and his situation. Ironically, everything he says is being dismissed out of hand. Ah, the joys of being a child.
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Give me an example of when you said something weird to run someone off as Kakashi did to Kogetsu-sensei!


	11. Discharged

Minato studied the paperwork in his hand. His eyes traced every word, making sure everything was correct, every space filled out, every signature completed.

"No matter how long you stare at that packet, it won't change," Kushina-chan said from her place on _their_ couch.

"I'm just making sure it's airtight, and nothing is missing." Minato placed the packet on the dinner table and then picked it up again.

Kushina walked over to him and took the packet from his hand. "Everything is there, Minato. Kakashi is yours, and there is nothing anyone can do about it now. We should put this in a safe place."

"How do you think Kakashi will take the news of his adoption," Minato asked nervously and twisting the fabric on his pants. He would like to think Kakashi would be happy.

"He'll be pissed. Especially since you didn't ask him." Minato hung his head, knowing Kushina-chan was right. "But he'll get over it." She kissed him, and Minato smiled into it.

"He'll probably think this is all overkill," Minato sighed, thinking back to the boy still in the hospital. He wondered if maybe he should have talked to him about it first. He knew Kakashi though, Kakashi wouldn't do anything to befit himself if it put a burden on someone else. Not that Kakashi was a burden, but the boy certainly didn't believe that.

Kushina grinned, "he already told you this was all overkill, and that was before you decided to adopt him. You'll be lucky if Kakashi doesn't stab you in your sleep."

"Maybe you should sleep in my room and protect me," he suggested, hopeful. Minato expected the hand to be shoved in his face. It was a testament to how much he loved this woman that he didn't dodge it.

"Stop saying weird stuff like that. You're moving too fast."

Minato pulled Kushina's hand away and saw his favorite color had been painted on her face once again. He was so glad he could do that to her. "I have been after you since we were children. It hardly feels fast to me." He turned her hand and kissed the back of it.

Kushina's blue eyes widened, and she took several steps back. "That's not-that is not true."

"Of course, it is. I have always known what I wanted. I want to be a strong shinobi, I want to be Hokage, I want to have a family, and I want you. I will accomplish all of them," Minato said seriously. He didn't want Kushina-chan to misunderstand this as a joke. He hadn't expected things to turn out like this, but what kind of shinobi would he be if he ignored an opening. Risky or not, he was taking it.

Kushina didn't respond, so Minato filled in the silence, "You can take the time you need, but I am ready. Speaking of being ready, did we get the eggplant for dinner tonight?" Minto changed the subject, so Kushina didn't feel too pressured. Kakashi was being released today. Their team was visiting Kakashi because it would be a day or two before seeing him at home. He smiled a bit at the thought of Kakashi being home here with them.

"Yeah, we have everything. Want to head over there now? It'll give Kakashi time to sleep before dinner. That way, he'll be well-rested and can stab you when you tell him you adopted him. I will watch and laugh too," Kushina informed him mercilessly. She had a gleeful grin on her face too. She really was looking forward to Kakashi getting retribution.

Minato pouted and crossed his arms. He would like to think Kakashi would be happy about all this. Minato knew he had wanted to have a family to call his own at Kakashi's age. "If I had asked, he would have said no. It's easier to ask for forgiveness than permission."

"That is so screwed up," Kushina shook her head.

"But am I wrong?"

"I won't answer that." That was answer enough for him.

Kakashi felt himself relax as he once again had his face mask in place. He had never gone for so long without it. He felt more like himself with it back in place. Today Kakashi was getting released from the hospital, which somehow put his childhood teammates in good spirits. The two of them were talking excitedly the way Sakura and Naruto would sometimes. It was nice, but he was seriously missing his space.

He wasn't going home alone, though, so he wouldn't have personal space there either. Minato had refused to see reason. He had successfully purchased a house of all things. That was a huge investment that was necessarily terrible, but he'd have preferred Sensei didn't have him in mind when he bought it. Apparently, it had a decent yard for training and his ninken to enjoy.

Kakashi very much missed his ninken, but he wasn't sure he wanted to summon them anytime soon. They worried they wouldn't be the same ninken that he had grown up with and fought with. It would be fine to see them when they were younger, but it still made him uncomfortable.

Minato suddenly arrived with his usual flare. Kakashi's memory of Minato-sensei must have been washed with time because he doesn't remember him being so pushy or showy.

"Sensei," he greeted first. His teammates offered their own happy greetings as well.

"Hello, Kashi-kun," Minato greeted him cheerfully. Kakashi let out a halfhearted sigh at the nickname. He would rather be called Bakashi.

"I just need to fill out some paperwork, and then we can be on our way. I already spoke to Kogetsu-sensei on the phone," Minato-sensei explained. Then he left as suddenly as he appeared. Kakashi had to wonder why Minato-sensei hadn't filled out the paperwork first and then came to see him. He clearly had seals in other parts of the hospital. Kakashi wondering if the hospital staff were aware of it or if Sensei just placed them there without permission.

"We're going to give you a few days to get used to living with Sensei before we visit you again," Rin was gathering her few items.

"Yeah, we both have missions while Team Minato is on hiatus. Rin is going to be doing more in the hospital, and I," Obito hooked his thumb to his chest, "am going to help a couple of the new genin teams."

Kakashi nodded. Obito being asked to assist in training other teams wasn't all that odd. Sure, he gave the boy a lot of grief growing up, but Obito was a good ninja for his age. He graduated at 9, which was younger than his students. He was placed on Minato-sensei's team because he had potential. Honestly, Obito would have received a lot more praise if he hadn't been stuck on a team with his dumbass. It must have shot his confidence trying to catch up to a kid so much younger than him. It would have nullified the fact he was already ahead of his own age group. Obito really had no luck.

"I'm sure they will learn a lot from you," Kakashi said honestly.

"Whoa, really," Obito straightened up in surprise.

Damn, Kakashi was such an ass as a kid. Of course, he hadn't understood why others didn't think and experience things the same way he did. It took Kakashi years to grasp that and another set of years to appreciate it. No wonder Obito ended up so screwed up, and Rin assumed there was no hope. He was the toxicity in their group.

"Yeah, I mean those who can't do, teach, right?" Okay, Kakashi was still an ass.

Obito howled in rage, but Rin quickly shushed him. Obito rudely pointed his finger at Kakashi while his other hand was fisted. "I'll have you know Bakashi, I will surpass you one day. You'll see, I'll be Hokage, and you will be bowing to me."

Kakashi yawned. It was a genuine yawn. He was tired, but Obito took it as an insult and stormed out of the room. Rin looked torn between chasing after her friend and staying with Kakashi.

"I'll be fine. I'm just waiting for Sensei," Kakashi waved her off. Rin nodded and gathered Obito's things before leaving.

Finally, Kakashi was surrounded by relative quiet. He should have pissed off Obito sooner. He laid back on the bed and yawned again. His body felt heavy and dull. Kakashi began drifting off when he saw something dark pass over him. He jerked upright and looked around. The room looked undisturbed. He couldn't see anyone, but that didn't mean someone wasn't here. There weren't a lot of places for someone to hide, though. Kakashi rescanned the room before a plume of darkness emerged to his left. Instincts screamed at him and threw his arm up to protect his face and neck. A kunai bit through his clothes down into his skin.

Kakashi launched himself out of bed towards the exit. He was in no position to be fighting anything. He had no weapons, no real protection, and he couldn't use his chakra. His best bet was to find help. Why was something attacking him anyway?

Again, the plume of darkness appeared. Kakashi realized belatedly it was a black cloak. He caught a pale hand aiming a kunai to his stomach. Kakashi twisted the arm, so the kunai was no longer positioned to gut him. He brought his shoulder into the torso of the enemy. When he leaned in to throw him over his shoulder, the enemy was suddenly not there. Kakashi stumbled and turned on his foot. He didn't like not having a visual of his enemy.

The phantom appeared again, and Kakashi took a second to examine his chakra. Like a quick sniff to see if the scent told him anything about his enemy. The chakra was a startling mixture of his chakra and another like chocolate and vanilla swirl, distinct but together.

The test cost Kakashi an attack of opportunity. The enemy still had a kunai, but Kakashi's body was still heavy and clumsy. He needed to escape. Kakashi dodged another attack getting further from his goal; the phantom seemed to know he was trying to leave. Kakashi bared his teeth even if the enemy nin could see it.

The man looked like someone had forgotten to color him in. He had white hair, translucent eyes, and pale skin, and the black clock accented him sharply. Kakashi watched those Hyuuga like eyes trying to predict his next attack without his sharingan. The phantom charged straight at him, and Kakashi dove between his legs, something he hadn't been able to get away with doing since he was a child.

"You can't escape me.," the phantom yelled as Kakashi threw the door open and bolted down the hall. "I'm always there."

Kakashi's heart hammered and sputtered in his chest like it would give out, but he pushed forward anyway. He ran past nurses and doctors, not even sure where he was running to. All he wanted to do was put distance between him and the phantom. Kakashi rounded the corner and found he couldn't continue further. He gasped for air and fell onto his knees as dizziness swamped his head. He felt something touch him, and he blindly swung his fist.

"I'm not going to hurt you," the difference in voice caused him to pause. There were several people now crowding around him. Kakashi was still trying to suck in air as he searched each of their faces looking for the assassin among them.

"How did this happen," The medic in front of him muttered. The medic put pressure on Kakashi's bleeding arm. He then got uncomfortably close to Kakashi's face and stared into his eyes. Kakashi swallowed thickly and considered shoving the medic out of his face. But he figured the man was just checking his pupil dilation. At least, that's what the Sakura in his head was telling him. "You'd probably breathe better without the mask. Do you want it off?"

"No," he rasped.

"Kakashi?" Kakashi heard sensei's voice and turned to see him jogging down the hall.

That's right; he forgot the yellow flash was there. Kakashi probably should have gone the opposite way towards the registration desk. It seemed the assassin hadn't followed him, anyway.

"What happened?" Some of the medics moved out of the way for Minato-sensei. He crouched down in front of Kakashi, his eyes zeroing in on the one injury he sustained. The medic had a gauze against his wound, but it was becoming increasingly red.

Kakashi's heart was finally slowing down enough for him to talk, but it was still punctuated with gasps for air. "Unknown nin, wearing a dark cloak, long white hair tied back. He used only one kunai as a weapon. Remained invisible to the eye and senses but solidified as he attacked." As Kakashi reported, the look of concern on Minato's face tightened to something more severe. His jaw flexed as he bit down hard.

"Where," Minato demanded.

"The hospital room. Just after Obito and Rin left," Kakashi promptly answered. His eyes widened as Minato's lips curled in rage.

"They left you?"

Kakashi hadn't expected such an angry reaction. Even he was intimidated by it, so Kakashi quickly tacked on, "I sent them away. You were in the building anyways."

"That doesn't mean they get to leave their post," Minato hissed.

"Post. They were guarding me. Has this happened before?" Kakashi had thought his team just wanted to be there with him. He should have realized it was a mission. Now that Kakashi was being released from the hospital, the team's mission ended, so they were reassigned.

Minato-sensei ignored Kakashi's questions. He stood to his feet and cast a look around the room. Zeroing in on someone, he commanded, "room 220 has security cameras. I want the tapes brought to me."

Sensei was keeping things from him. It was a startling realization. Kakashi supposed it shouldn't be if he gave it an honest thought. This trip through time was passing him uncomfortable insights on the people he perfected in his memories.

"How bad is his injury?" Minato-sensei demanded from the medic that still had ahold of his arm.

"A shinobi medic can have it cleared up in no time. Has anyone looked at his heart recently?" The medic asked.

"He is under Kogetsu-sensei's care. His chakra pathways were damaged. She'll be starting on chakra enhanced healing soon to deal with the internal damages. She said his pathways had mostly stabilized. Can his arm be healed then?"

"I'll call Kogetsu-sensei and get her recommendation on the matter. We'll have him taken to a different room in case he needs suturing instead."

Minato sensei agreed, and the pair were led into a smaller room with an examination table. Kakashi was so tired he considered just sleeping on it. Before he could try and get onto it, he was lifted by his armpits and placed on it. It happened quickly, so Kakashi didn't have time to react to it. It was disorienting to be picked up off the ground like that. Minato was instructed on how to hold Kakashi's wound before the medic left.

"You didn't tell me Rin and Obito were guarding me," Kakashi said, looking at Minato's hand wrapped around his forearm. It made Kakashi feel a lot smaller and a cold ball twisted in his stomach at that.

"Your job was to heal, Kakashi," Minato murmured as he watched the door.

"I should have been told," Kakashi argued, wishing Minato would at least look at him.

"You needed to rest. Not worry about your safety, and it still is," Minato said firmly, his eyes finally meeting Kakashi's.

"Is that why you are pushing me to stay with you? Sensei, you can't be there all the time. You have to go on missions. I have to go on missions," Kakashi challenged. It was utterly ridiculous this level of protection. He had always been fine on his own, and he didn't know why that suddenly changed. This was hardly the first attempt on his life. Most shots were by foreign shinobi while outside the village. Still, it had happened inside the village or by Konoha shinobis before. But maybe he had never told Minato-sensei about them? He kept many things to himself at this age, not wanting to burden others with his problems. A good shinobi was an asset and didn't cause his village problem would have been his line of thinking.

"You will not be going on missions for a long time. Not until you are 100%, and that includes-" Minato stopped himself, but Kakashi knew what he was referring to.

Kakashi narrowed his eyes and said the word that Minato-sensei didn't dare to use. "I'm not crazy."

"I didn't say you were. It's a coping skill. You went through a lot," Sensei's voice softened just a bit.

The sheer audacity of that comment had Kakashi mentally snarling. His sensei didn't know even half of it.

Two doctors came in, shutting them up for the moment. They explained, Kogetsu-sensei recommended they go ahead and try chakra enhanced healing. She wanted them to go slowly in case his pathways are still too weak. Kakashi gave the shinobi medic his arm and watched as the green glow emanated from her hand. He mentally cringed as it felt like sandpaper under the skin. Kakashi refused to show any discomfort lest they stop and give him stitches instead.

Kakashi's arm was made new. He moved it and felt the new skin pull and stretch. "Thank you."

Another man came into the room and handed a tape off to Minato-sensei. Sensei thanked the man and stood to his feet. "I'll finish the paperwork on the way out. I'll be keeping him with me this time," Minato declared.

Kakashi was beyond irritated with his sensei. It wasn't that Minato was making bad decisions. Far from it. Kakashi just didn't like not being included in them. Never has Kakashi been left so far out of the loop of his own wellbeing.

Minato urged him to get up and leave with him, but Kakashi just huffed and refused to get up. It may be childish, but Minato-sensei needed to understand he wouldn't be treated like this. Being ordered around was fine, but he was being treated like someone incapable.

Minato-sensei let out a sigh. Then for no reason at all, Minato went to pick him up. Kakashi shoved Minato, even putting some chakra in it. Minato released him but was clearly done with Kakashi's antics. "If you don't want to be carried, then use your own legs and walk."

Kakashi had no choice. There was no way in hell sensei was carrying him. So, Kakashi got on his feet and followed after Minato looking every bit a bratty child.

Kakashi stood beside Minato in the lobby as he finished filling out the paperwork. Everything was crashing in on him. He didn't care anymore. He walked away and stretched out on the chairs to sleep. If that assassin asshole stabbed him in his sleep, maybe it would be for the best.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kakashi realizes that Minato isn't entirely honest with him all the time. You and I know Minato keeps Kakashi out of the loop on a lot more than Kakashi realizes. A lot is going on in this small group of people. The team is getting split up, Minato is adopting Kakashi, and Kakashi has his first conscious encounter with the assassin.


	12. Matters of Adoption

Kakashi slowly came to awareness. He was unusually comfortable. His left knee didn't ache, and his back was unusually quiet. Kakashi felt warm, and it was a nice feeling. He didn't often wake up slowly. Typically, it was sudden and sharp. He savored the feeling of his eyes slowly opening and finding something to focus on.

  
  
There was a lamp on an end table next to him, but he could see well enough without it. Neither item was familiar to him. Kakashi frowned and pushed himself up into a sitting position and looked around. He saw a low table in the room with cushions around it and a tall bookcase packed full of books and scrolls, and a second one that just had a few items on it. The only thing familiar was the bedspread on his bed; it was the grey and blue one from his childhood. This must be his new room in Sensei's apartment. 

Kakashi groaned and dropped his head back on the pillow. Sensei must have carried him here despite his earlier protest. Hopefully, Minato-sensei used his hiraishin to save Kakashi's pride, but he doubted it. They had been fighting before Kakashi decided the hospital lobby was the perfect place to nap. Kakashi needed to rethink his criteria for napping location. Something went awry there.

With a heavy sigh, Kakashi pushed himself back into a sitting position. He noticed a glass of water and drank it down greedily. He was still tired, but some energy had returned to him. He eyed the door, not sure he really wanted to know what lied beyond it. Sensei hadn't bought a house until Kushina got pregnant with Naruto. This would likely be a different house. A new home wasn't a massive change in the timeline, so it shouldn't affect much. So far, nothing drastic had changed yet. Perhaps, Kakashi having a near-death experience was a bit of a change, but he didn't think that would influence things too much. Even with Sensei's suddenly getting protective and demanding, he would convince him to let him return home soon. Kakashi could take care of himself, and Sensei would see that. So why did something feel very wrong?

  
Kakashi pulled the blankets off and slid off the bed. He was still getting used to his lack of height and how the floor was a lot further down than it should be. He opened the door and poked his head out. There was a door directly across from him, and two more down the hall where it opened up into what he assumed was the living room. He could smell miso soup boiling. The salty scent reminded him that he was hungry. Kakashi quietly closed the door behind him and crept down the hall to spy on his sensei, but Kushina's voice called out to him. 

"Kashi-kun, glad you are finally awake! Come to the living room, and I'll start on dinner. I have some miso for you, ya know."

Kakashi sighed at being caught, and he trudged his way into the living room. He should have guessed Kushina-san would be visiting. Minato would probably ask her out soon if memory served him, or had Kushina asked Minato-sensei out? Kakashi hadn't paid much attention to their relationship at this age. 

Minato was the only one in the living room. He was sitting at a kotatsu instead of the couch behind him. He was rolling up a scroll he had been working on, leaving Kakashi more than a little curious, especially since he now knows Sensei doesn't tell him things. 

  
"Feeling any better," Minato-sensei's voice was friendly. For a moment, it brought him back to when he was actually eight and was jealous for Minato-sensei's attention. Minato gestured to the spot next to him. 

Kakashi shrugged and sat down across from Minato. "You moved my stuff. Where did the rest of it go?" Not that he had much, but he recalled having kitchen supplies. His apartment had come furnished if he remembered correctly. Despite having a guardian, he was still under the orphanage system. So, they supplied the furniture and other necessities, but it hadn't been his to keep. It would have gone to the next unlucky kid. 

"There was little in what you actually owned. What you did have is boxed for you to use later if you want."

Kushina came in with a very familiar bowl filled with warm miso. It was deep green with black paw prints around it. He wasn't sure how he felt about it making an appearance once again. Somehow it solidified that Sensei was expecting Kakashi to live here, not just recover. He accepted the miso as Kushina sat between him and Minato-sensei. "What are you working on," Kakashi asked while eyeing the scroll. 

Minato patted the scroll. "I was watching the footage from your hospital room and taking notes. Jiraiya-sensei is right. I don't believe this to be a Konoha shinobi, so we will have to take this to the council." 

"Guess it is a good thing you got all that paperwork through, ya know," Kushina said to Minato. 

"What paperwork," Kakashi asked with a frown. The young couple shared a look that sent red flags waving in Kakashi's mind. 

"Oh! I better get started on dinner. Don't want you falling asleep before you have time to eat," Kushina ruffled his hair as she quickly left the room. Well, that was an avoidance tactic if he had ever seen one. 

Kakashi turned to Minato to inquire again but was cut off. "In the video, the phantom seemed to say something to you. What was it?" Minato-sensei asked.

Another avoidance tactic but this one he had to go along with. "He said I couldn't escape him. He is always with me," Kakashi rehearsed. Minato-sensei frowned and unrolled the scroll. He quickly scanned what he could of the contents. Huh. It really was notes on the video. 

Minato tapped the other end of his brush on the table, splattering some of the ink. Sensei didn't seem to notice. Why was he using his fuinjutsu supplies to write notes on a scroll?

  
  
"He didn't set off any of my seals. I should have been alerted when an unknown entity entered your room, but I was only alerted when you left. I used Hiraishin, but you were gone from the room at that point, and the phantom was gone too." The tapping stopped, and the end of the brush went into Sensei's mouth. It was a childish gesture that amused Kakashi.

"His chakra signature was unusual too. It was like mine, but then different," Kakashi supplied, trying to be helpful.

"You know your own chakra signature?" Minato-sensei's eyes snapped to his in surprise. Knowing your chakra signature was like knowing your own scent. The best sensors knew and could identify their own signature, but Kakashi was not a sensor type. 

Kakashi felt a bit embarrassed by his admission. "I trained for it in tracking purposes. Sometimes I need to retrace my own steps or guide others to me. I'm not a sensor, but I trained for increased sensitivity and can identify a select few." It had been handy in particular retrieval missions when he located an object, but he could not extract it right away. Or to use as a tracking device if the item or person moved around a lot. It was a technique he copied from a Kumo shinobi, but it took a lot of training for him to use it.

"How?" Minato asked, his brush hovering over the scroll. 

Kakashi explained his training regimen and progression. Minato-sensei wrote down what he was saying on the same scroll as his video notes. 

"Did you come up with this on your own?" Sensei asked, sounding impressed.

Kakashi looked down at his bowl, mostly empty at this point. "Nothing is ever created with pure originality, Sensei. I built off lessons and the inputs of others until I found something that worked for me." 

Kushina joined the group with a tray of dishes, "alright, you two, stop nerding out. It's dinner time, ya know." Kushina passed out the dishes. Kakashi stared at the meal before him, wondering when the last time was someone cooked for him. He almost didn't want to eat and disturb the visual. 

"Are you okay?" Kushina asked, disturbing Kakashi's reverence.

"Yeah. Yes," Kakashi assured them with a quick smile. He hooked a finger on his mask and lowered it to take a bit. It was a familiar taste. Kushina had made this meal for him before, but it had been so long he hadn't realized he forgot what her's tasted like. 

Despite the pleasure of the meal, Kakashi could see something was going on between Kushina-san and Minato-sensei. He took in more of his surroundings and realized this was different than how Minato-sensei lived. It was cleaner. Not that sensei was dirty; he was more absent-minded. He left things scattered about. Kushina-san had several pairs of shoes by the entrance, and there was a throw blanket on the couch. "Did you two get married while I was in the hospital?"

They both choked on their chopsticks. Their faces turned bright red like two teenagers caught sneaking out to meet with each other late at night. It would have been really amusing if Kakashi didn't have such an off feeling about the whole thing.

  
  
"Ah, no, Kakashi. Kushina did move in to help with you since I get called out on missions more often. But you know marriage-" Sensei was cut off when Kushina-san shoved her hand into his face smashing his nose. 

"No," Kushina hissed, "this is not your opening. And stop using Kashi-kun as your wingman." She removed her hand but not her glare. Kakashi's eyes flickered between the two. How was he Minato-sensei's wingman? He had never been involved in their relationship. Somehow the thought of it felt creepy.

"But what kind of shinobi would I be if I missed a perfect opening like that?" Minato-sensei flirted. Once again, Kakashi's perception of Minato-sensei shifted. 

Kushina-san did not look impressed with Minato-sensei. She started stabbing him in the chest with her finger. "Don't even start with me. I gave you a perfect opening earlier. I handed it to you, and your sissy ass ignored it to nerd out. Do I need to do this for you?"

Minato-sensei paled considerably, "no,-no. I can do it. I'll do it tomorrow. You're tired, right, Kashi-kun?"

"I just woke up. Why would I be tired?" Kakashi wanted to know what was going on. 

"Minato," Kushina-san growled at Minato. 

"You're so pretty, Kushina-chan." Was Minato-sensei using flirting to try and get out of something? What the hell did he do that made him that desperate?

"Minato adopted you without your permission," Kushina dropped. 

"Kushina~" Kakashi barely registered the whine as he tried to wrap his mind around what had just been saying. 

"You should have told him earlier if you wanted to let him know nicely. You deserve to be stabbed," Kushina hissed. 

Minato-sensei adopted him? Like...adopted adopted? Did his last name change? Why the hell would Sensei adopt him? What kind of sick joke was this? 

"Kakashi?" Sensei's hand touched his, and he looked up to see their worried faces. 

"What the hell did I do so wrong to cause this?" Kakashi had just been in a hospital bed. He hadn't done anything. He hadn't been conscious enough to do anything, yet this happened. How had this happened?

"Kakashi, you didn't do anything wrong," Minato assured him. 

"Yeah. Your sensei is just an idiot about how he goes about things. But this isn't meant to be a punishment," Kushina reached over to rub his shoulder. 

Kakashi dropped his head into his hands. "You just decided this on your own? Do you even understand what you've done? What if you don't become Hokage now because of this?"

"Kakashi-" Minato frowned

  
  
"What the hell were you thinking," Kakashi demanded.

  
  
"You were injured-"

  
  
"I get injured all the time. I'm a shinobi," Kakashi rebutted.

  
  
"Not like that you don't. And the council will have to see this tape. They already separated us once. What if they did it again but permanently," Minato actually sounded distraught by the idea. Still, Kakashi refused to let that emotion dissuade him.

  
  
"Then you let them," Kakashi said firmly.

  
  
Minato stared at Kakashi for a moment. Kakashi met his gaze, refusing to back down. "Kakashi, I couldn't-"

  
  
"Fix this. Now," Kakashi interrupted. He didn't want to hear whatever heartfelt speech Minato would likely give him.

  
  
"Kashi-kun, this isn't a bad thing. It's just to keep our family together."

"We're not family!" Kakashi stood up to his feet. "I'm not your kid. I'm not even a kid. If you have some weird form of baby fever, that's fine but get her pregnant," he jabbed his finger towards Kushina, "don't go dragging me into it."

"Kakashi!" Kushina blushed. 

Kushina's embarrassed outburst caught Kakashi's attention. "Why didn't you stop him," Kakashi demanded. She clearly knew about it. 

"You can't just stop Minato. Even Jiraiya tried," Kushina defended herself.

"And you didn't listen?" Kakashi glared at his sensei. 

"Of course not. The council would have taken you away, Kakashi. What kind of sensei would I be if I allowed that to happen?" 

"A smart one, because I do nothing but screw up people's lives." 

"Kakashi!" He ignored his sensei and quickly did the hand signs to shushin out. 

Kakashi didn't get very far. Not like he had hoped to. Minato-sensei was the fastest man around, so Kakashi had little hope of outrunning him unless Sensei let him. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and trudged down the street. The street lamps were on, and most people seemed to be tucked away into their homes. 

At one point in his life, Kakashi would have walked to the memorial stone to gain perspective. Now that his ghosts had been laid to rest, he went to the Hokage mountain. Sometimes, Kakashi would take a page out of Gai's book and climb up the rock face to expel excess energy. He would then make himself comfortable on Sensei's nose and watch the village he was leading below. 

But Sensei's head wasn't on the cliff face yet, and Kakashi didn't think he could scale it right now either. So, he took the stairs. He learned that night just how awful stairs were. His heart hammered against his chest. His heart had 'chakra' damage, but the medics seemed confident they could fix it. For now, it plagued him. He saw a bench and went to lay on it to catch his breath. He looked forward to getting back to his usual self again. He was tired of being tired.

Kakashi turned his head to look at the view. The village had a warm but small glow. Not like it is in his reign. At night, the village seemed brighter than the sun. It wasn't hidden anymore. 

Kakashi wasn't sure what to do. He was in the past, stuck as a kid. He could change so much. He wanted to say fix, but would it really fix anything? Wasn't the peace they fought for enough of a fix? He could be selfish. He could save his loved ones, and the rest of the world be damned. He had to live with their loss already; didn't he deserve something in return?

Kakashi let out a heavy sigh. They were already lost to him; these were old wounds festering once more. Ghosts surrounded him, but he had to keep focused. Kakashi needed to return to his time and not screw things up in his favor. Things never turned out well when he did that.  
  
Would Naruto be the same determined and vibrant young man if his parents raised him? Kakashi would love to say yes, but he, of all people, knew how pain molded you. His students would not be the same people if he changed things here. Kakashi would be adding to his list of lost precious people, and he was so tired of that list.

Kakashi flipped onto his back and draped his arm over his eyes. He wasn't getting anywhere laying around as he was. He needed to figure out what he had been doing to trigger his arrival. Was it fuinjutsu or ninjutsu? Perhaps Kakashi had been fighting someone, and they used a bloodline limit? Hell, maybe it was a piece of technology. Perhaps Sasuke experimented with his rinnengan, but then shouldn't Sasuke be here, and Kakashi not be stuck in his childhood body?

Kakashi felt himself drifting to sleep, so he sat up and shook his head to wake himself up. "You can come out, Sensei."

"Are you sure you are not a sensor," Minato asked. He moved out of the shadows and went to sit on the bench next to him. 

"I'm sure. I just know you," Kakashi shrugged. With someone trying to assassinate him, there was no way his sensei would allow him to go off on his own. 

"You're not going to screw up my life, Kakashi," Minato informed him while keeping his eyes trained on the village. "You give yourself too much credit. You are not responsible for my happiness; only your own."

"Sensei," Kakashi's voice was heavy with disapproval. He let out a sigh. He wanted this conversation to end because Kakashi didn't have the energy for it. "I'm sorry for what I said. It was childish."

"But do you believe it?"

Kakashi couldn't answer that honestly. He felt Minato's hand on his head and looked up to see him smiling at him. "I am going to teach you that isn't true. We are a family now."

Now there was a topic he was more comfortable with. "Speaking of which, that was a stupid move on your part. What if you don't become Hokage because of me?"

"It still wouldn't be your fault. Kakashi, I have known you since you were a week old. I held you in my arms while Jiraiya-sensei was comforting your father. I swore to you and Sakumo then that I was going to watch over you. When Sakumo died, I demanded to take you as my apprentice because I wanted to stay by your side. You had changed a lot after his death. You wanted space, and I was the idiot that let you have it. I thought you would know better than anyone what you needed, and I was afraid you would hate me if I refused. I had lived on my own at that age too, so," Minato shrugged helplessly with an apologetic smile, "but I had not just lost my family. I shouldn't have let you go." 

"I was fine on my own," Kakashi argued.

"No, you were not. I screwed up. I broke my promise to you because I was afraid. Because I didn't trust you and our relationship. But Kakashi, I have no intention of losing you. Adoption papers don't make us a family; we were already a family. I am just blocking anyone from trying to separate our family, including your insecurities."

"I don't remember you being this possessive," Kakashi muttered. 

"I have always known what I wanted," Minato-sensei ruffled his hair. "We should head back."

Kakashi was not looking forward to the trek back. He should have gone to the memorial stone. At least that didn't have so many stairs. 

"Get on my back, Kashi-kun." Sensei had knelt for him. Kakashi climbed on without thinking twice. If he could avoid those stairs, he would.

Sensei's back was warm and strong. He relaxed against it. "The adoption wasn't finalized, right? We can still stop it?"

"Nope, it's all done," Minato chirped. 

"You're not even sorry," Kakashi complained. Sensei's laughter told him how right he was. "Does that mean I am a Namikaze now?" Kakashi wasn't sure how to feel about that.

"Only if you want to be. I wasn't going to make that choice for you, so I left your name as is."

At least there was that. 

"Besides, Kushina wants all the kids to have her last name since she is part of an actual clan."

Uzumaki Kakashi. "I think I'll keep mine." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do you think Kakashi should have changed his name or left it? The adoption part was interesting to me because if I were true to the culture, Kakashi would have been forced to give up his last name and anything that tied him to the Hatake clan and take on Minato's. Then because Kushina wants them part of her clan, there would have been an heir adoption of Minato so that he would have been an Uzumaki in and Kakashi would have followed along with making Kakashi the Uzumaki heir instead of Naruto. It has story potential, but it wasn't where I wanted to focus with this story.


	13. Team Training

The adoption matter was certainly not settled for Kakashi. Minato-sensei may believe it was, and Kakashi was willing to let me live in his delusions for a bit. Meanwhile, Kakashi would work on more important things, like how to get back home.   
  
Kakashi wasn’t going to wait on Sasuke to come to find him. Things were changing, and it was in Kakashi’s best interest to leave sooner than later. For now, he was stuck living with Minato-sensei. Stranger still, in the eyes of the law, Kakashi was now Minato’s son. It felt all sorts of wrong.

The one saving grace in this chaos was his sensei had plenty of scrolls and books on time and space manipulation. Kakashi studied every moment he was awake since Kushina-san wouldn't allow him to train. The tongue lashing he had received sent him scurrying away and hiding amongst the piles of books. 

Currently, Kakashi thumbed the pages of a book, refusing to look away from the text. Rin and Obito were vying for his attention. They were desperate enough that they tried to quiz him on the shinobi rule book. Kakashi didn't even know why they were here, sitting in his room like it was a playdate. If this was Kakashi’s house, he would have denied them entrance, but it wasn’t. Kushina-san let them in and put them in his room. Now Kakashi was expected to play host to a couple of kids when he needed to study. He was doing a fantastic job of it if the salty silence was anything to go by.

Kushina-san knocked on the door before popping it open. "Hey kiddies, I brought snacks!" she sang. Kushina-san put a tray of drinks, rice crackers, and what looked like little meatballs on the small table they were sitting around. Neither Rin nor Obito seemed offended by being called kiddies. Their eyes brightened at the treats. Obito shoved a meatball into his mouth and then grabbed another, and Rin collected a few of the crackers with a polite thank you. Obito tried to thank Kushina around the food in his mouth, causing Kakashi to cringe.

Kushina-san sat down between Kakashi and Obito and bumped Kakashi in the shoulder, "see, Kashi-kun, isn't this fun?" She gave him a big toothy grin, much like her son. Kakashi knew the right answer was to agree with her.

"Not really," Kakashi answered honestly and flipped the page he was reading. 

Kushina-san laughed like he had told a joke. "Don't listen to him, you two. He's just grumpy because Minato went on a mission." Minato-sensei left two days ago and was expected to return as early as tomorrow. Since then, it has just been Kushina-san and Kakashi. He has never spent so much time with her previously. As a child, he had found Kushina-san to be annoying and actively avoided her. He can handle her better because of Naruto.

"No, I'm not.”

Kushina gasped, dropping her mouth open in mock surprise, "don't say that, Kashi-kun. You'll hurt Minato's feelings!"

Kakashi's eyes fluttered in an effort to not roll his eyes. He couldn't win with her. Was Kushina-san just making up conversations in her head? He buried his nose back into the book, determined to ignore the chatter around him. 

"What are you reading about?" Rin leaned against his shoulder. Her eyes scanned the page he was currently on. When had she decided Kakashi no longer deserved personal space?

"Theoretical jutsu, but I would rather be reading porn."

"EHHHH?!" Rin screeched and jerked away from him.

"Hey! Don't say weird things like that to Rin!" Obito shot to his feet. 

Things were quickly careening out of control, according to Kakashi’s vast knowledge about preteens. So, Kakashi smiled up at Obito to try and placate him, which somehow infuriated Obito more. Obito lunged at Kakashi. He really should have predicted this reaction, but it was hard to remember that he was Obito’s peer. Worse yet, he was younger than Obito. Sasuke and Naruto were more than willing to toss all their training out and wrestle each other to get their point across. But Kakashi was an adult, and that was not what adults typically did. So, Kakashi didn’t move in time to get out of the way. Obito’s hands clamped around his neck, cutting off his airflow right away. Kakashi at least kept his wits to him and didn’t stab Obito. Instead, he used the book to smack Obito in the head. Maybe he could knock some sense into the boy.  
  
Kushina-san came to Kakashi's aid. She wrapped one arm around Obito's waist, and her other hand pried his fingers from Kakashi's neck. Obito hung off her arm with his hands clenching the air. Kakashi rolled away so Obito couldn't get a hold of him again, like his hair. Brat.

"Obito! Kashi-kun is still healing!" Rin scolded. 

"Don't call me that," Kakashi sighed. Why did people assume they could call him whatever they wanted? He adjusted his mask and the collar of his shirt.

Obito deflated at the scolding and lost every ounce of fire in him. "But he said something perverted," Obito whined.

"He was joking," Kushina placed Obito back on the ground and put her hands on her hips, "Learn to take a joke, Bito."

No, he wasn't. Kakashi was entirely honest with Rin, but he would let them think that since it made them feel better. He wasn’t eager to rile Obito up again.

Obito sat back down, his arms folded and glaring at Kakashi. He could feel the heat of it, but it was hardly the worst glare he had ever experienced. It didn't even hold a candle against Obito’s adult glare. It was more like a puppy after its first bath. "You could always leave if you are uncomfortable,” he offered helpfully. He hoped Obito would take the suggestion, then he could get back to work.

"Kakashi," Kushina chided, "stop picking on him." Once again, Kushina was making up weird things in her head. Kakashi hasn't lied, joked, or picked on anyone. He had been straightforward and honest the entire time. Where had this reputation come from?

The room went quiet, and it wasn't the pleasant kind either. Everyone was irritated. Kakashi sighed and closed his book. Looks like, as the only adult, he would have to resolve this "What is this all about?" He was looking at Kushina. He had a feeling she orchestrated all this out of some misguided attempt to socialize him. 

Rin answered instead, wringing her fingers together until they hooked into her sleeves. "Ummm, well, Obito-kun, and I just wanted to see how you were doing. We kinda just showed up since Minato-sensei wasn't here to conduct training." Rin offered him an uncertain smile.

"You should have still trained," Kakashi said, resting his cheek in his hand. "Take some initiative. We are in a war, and the longer this plays out, the more likely we'll be sent to the front line."

"Hey! We were trying to do something nice, you ungrateful bastard," Obito was quick to argue. 

"Something nice would be focusing on not getting killed the first time we go out without Minato-sensei," the harsh tone startled even Kakashi. He pursed his lips. Irritation was still white-hot in him as he thought of all Obito put them through. And for what?

"Awww, Kashi-kun is worried," Kushina cooed. Then like a switch, her face pulled into a frown, "but you don't need to be an ass about it. If you are that concerned though," she pushed herself to her feet, "I'll train them. Alright, Kiddies, let's all go to the back. Bring your book Kashi-kun; you are still not allowed to join. Oh, and you better eat these snacks, or I'll cram them down your throat." Kushina-san threatened. She then picked up the tray to lead the way outside while humming. What the hell did Minato see in her? He could not imagine choosing to live with someone like her. She was exhausting.

The group headed out to the backyard. There was a decent amount of space. The yard needed more work; it was over-grown. There was a bare patch that was likely used as a sparing ring at one point. But even that had plant life breaking through the hard ground. There was nothing aesthetically pleasing about the yard. Everything was wild, and it butted up against trees and the village wall. Most of the homes near the village wall were cheaper. Minato and Kushina had purchased a house further in the village, and they didn’t have a yard. He wondered why they chose this house instead of closely resembling the one they had originally purchased.   
  
Kakashi settled himself on the back porch with his book. He was glad to have some space and time to actually focus. If only his thoughts would stop wandering. Kushina immediately started working with Obito and Rin. She leads them through the typical warmups they did with Minato-sensei. Then she pitted Obito and Rin against each other for a spar. Kushina didn’t stay with them like Minato-sensei would have; instead, she sat next to Kakashi. "Feel better?" she questioned him, keeping her eyes on his teammates.

Kakashi sighed, "I'd feel better if I sparred with Rin. Obito doesn't fight her for real. She'll never learn to compensate for her smaller frame if he keeps letting her win. Frankly, I don’t know why she is on the team still. She may want to be a medic, but she doesn't train in the hospital enough to make that happen. Instead, she keeps going out with us. She needs to transfer off the team and start her apprenticeship; otherwise, she'll get kidnapped and killed." Kakashi had never wondered why Rin was on their team, to begin with, until recently. It was like she was meant to die.

Kushina-san scowled, "you have a really bleak outlook, ya know. Besides, Rin doesn't want to work in the hospital, Kakashi. She wants to be a field medic." 

"What?" Kakashi hadn't realized this. He furrowed his brows and looked back at Rin. "A field medic, huh?” He rolled the concept around his mind trying to digest it. “Then Obito and Minato-sensei need to stop going easy on her. She needs to learn to strike without hesitation and to end her fights quickly. Traps would be a useful skill, but they need to stop treating her as a long-range fighter. The first thing enemy nin will do is to take out the medic. They will force her into hand to hand." Kakashi thought out loud.

Kushina-san turned towards Kakashi, but Kakashi kept his focus on the mock spar. He couldn’t even call it a spar. How was Rin not offended by this? "So how would you train her?" Kushina-san asked.

"Genjutsu and assault boarding assassination. She needs to put an emphasis on speed. Get in, then get out. Chakra control is necessary as a medic-nin, and she can put that to good use with genjutsu." Kakashi thought back to Sakura. If Tsunade hadn’t trained her, he would have sent her to an early grave. He really had not been ready for a genin team.

"But genjutsu will be Obito's forte."

"Because he is an Uchiha?" Kakashi shook his head, "he'll never develop an aptitude for it. Genjutsu requires subtlety and concentration that is beyond him. He'd rather punch it. Best to just let him. His reactionary tendencies suggest he would be excellent at counter-attacks. He has a sturdy build, and he'll become a sturdy man. Rather than hide him, have him stay visible and teach him how to direct attention. That will help Rin slip in and out of combat too." The more Kakashi thought about it, the more he liked that team strategy.

"And you?" 

That was an easy question. "I'm a midrange ninjutsu user and strategist. My job would be to direct the field and fill in where I am needed." 

"Wow, that is a well-rounded team. Minato isn't training you to be that?"

"Sensei doesn't have the experience with training teams to catch on. He wants Rin in the back, thinking she'll be safer there and used as support. It's textbook, but it's textbook broke. He is banking on Obito’s Sharingan as much as Obito is. And he is expecting me to fill in the gaps. It's not his fault because this is his first team. Before us, all Sensei had to do was worry about crafting his own skills. When he took me on as an apprentice, his technique hadn't needed to change much. We were similar in how we trained. Rin and Obito are different. Training and forming a team are different. He just doesn't know how to do it." Kakashi hadn’t known how to do it either when he got his first genin team. He was used to dealing with older shinobi that already knew who and what kind of shinobi they were. They were motivated enough to train independently and certainly didn’t expect Kakashi to hold their hands through training.

"But you do because you have trained teams before." 

Somehow that question broke Kakashi out of his analysis. He looked up at Kushina-san for the first time during the conversation. That should have been said sarcastically, but the tone didn't fit, and neither did her expression. "I have," Kakashi admitted cautiously. 

"What kind of teams?" Kushina-san inquired. She squinted her eyes as if trying to predict what he would say.

"ANBU mostly and one genin team. I'll admit I was really out of my element with the genin team,” Kakashi watched Kushin-san closely as he answered.

"I always figured you'd end up in ANBU," Kushina-san leaned back with a satisfied look on her face. 

"You don't have to pretend to believe me," Kakashi turned his attention back to Rin and Obito. Predictably Rin won, but she hadn't deserved the victory. 

"I have no reason not to believe you. I'm an Uzumaki. We developed some pretty crazy stuff. Time travel is probably in there somewhere. In fact, people say the village of Uzushio wasn't destroyed; instead, they all time-traveled to the future."

Kakashi wondered if Kushina-san was mocking him now. But she seemed to genuinely think she was reassuring him. "Maaa- thanks, I guess."

Kushina-san reached over and ruffled his hair. "I'll tell Minato what you said so they can start training properly from now on."

Kakashi frowned; he did it again. He changed things without meaning to. "Ah, don't do that. I'm sure I am just talking nonsense."

"No way! I totally agree with you. Everything you said really makes sense, ya know." She stood up and left before Kakashi could protest further. He watched as Kushina-san berated Obito for letting Rin win. He needed to learn to shut up. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I added a prologue! Probably late to add a prologue, but I did it anyway. Please check it out when you have the time!
> 
> Sorry I didn't update last week. I'm in Texas, and the snow apocalypse made things difficult. Next week there is a chance there won't be an update. I'm getting my second covid shot tomorrow, and I expect to get really sick. My family doesn't handle the virus well at all. They have either died or have been hospitalized for months. I got many symptoms with the first dosage, and I hear the second is much worse. So please be patient with me.


	14. Trolling

Finally, Kakashi was getting chakra-enhanced healing. Minato honestly didn't know how civilians managed. It had been an awful journey seeing Kakashi so weak. Minato wanted to wrap Kakashi up in blankets and stab anyone that tried to touch him. 

Kogetsu-sensei handled Kakashi’s overall care, but she wasn't a shinobi. She couldn’t perform chakra healing, so she wasn’t here. The first thing they intended to target was Kakashi’s heart. It had been damaged. He had already known that, but the thought of it still bothered Minato. He saw the effects of that damage every day too. Kakashi had no energy. Watching him climb the stairs to the top of Hokage mountain had been a painful experience. He went so slowly and gasped for air—nothing like his little chuunin who could train for hours. 

Kakashi’s face twisted, and Minato itched to comfort him. The medics told him this wasn't going to be painless. Kakashi’s chakra pathways were still raw, and his heart would react to what they were doing. Still, it was essential to start that first to prevent further damage. Minato had questioned if they would heal Kakashi’s mind next, but Kogetsu-sensei threatened to give Minato a lobotomy. She then explained that yes, they would heal his brain due to the concussion, but they may not stop his delusions. 

Kakashi inhaled sharply, and Minato stepped forward and took Kakashi’s hand. Despite the spat they had this morning about him coming, Kakashi squeezed his hand. Minato stroked his bangs out of his face. Sweat was causing it to stick to his skin. Kakashi turned his head towards him and peered at him through narrowed eyes. It looked like a glare, but it was likely just the pain. 

The medic leaned back with a sigh. She then flashed Minato a smile, which was a good sign. She patted Kakashi’s shoulder, and he turned to look at her. "That couldn’t have been comfortable, but you did great. I was able to fix the damage. But you still have more recovery ahead of you, so don't push it, okay?" She stood up. Minato helped Kakashi sit up; his lack of resistance to the help was a telling sign. 

"Thank you," Kakashi said quietly, somehow remembering his manners. 

"It's fine. I can't tell you how exciting it is to be even a small part of your case. You are all the buzz here at the hospital,” the medic waved it off and pushed the stool towards the desk.

Kakashi looked unimpressed, "should you be gossiping about a patient and his information?"

The woman opened her mouth, closed it, bowed, and then fled from the room. Kakashi shook his head and hopped off the table. It was amazing how Kakashi could manipulate people with just a few words to leave when he wanted them to. 

"Feeling any better?" Minato asked. He studied him, looking for any further discomfort.

Kakashi shrugged, "probably just residual pain at this point." 

Was it weird that Minato was sad he wouldn't be carrying Kakashi around anymore? He settled for ruffling his hair and Kashi-kun's exasperated look that he loved so much. It just made Minato want to pick on him more. "I could carry you home."

Kakashi pushed his hand off his head, "no." 

Minato smiled and followed his grouchy student out. He already knew the rejection was going to happen. "I have training scheduled with Obito and Rin. Would you like to come with me? I'm a little late already." The appointment took longer than expected. It was supposed to be done over two sessions, but the medic decided to cram it into one. Kakashi insisted that he could handle it.

"Sure," Kakashi sounded bored. He walked with his back curved, one hand shoved in his pocket, and the other had a book. It was becoming an increasingly familiar sight. Kogetsu-sensei said it wasn't abnormal for behavioral changes to occur. Minato supposed that meant posture changes as well. He did have to admit his student was very good at walking and reading at the same time. His situational awareness was exceptional. He maneuvered with an effortless grace that Minato was envious of. 

"They'll be happy to see you. It'll be nice to have us all at training again." Kakashi said nothing. Minato was a bit disappointed; he had hoped for a reaction of some kind. "Maybe I'll even let you spar a bit. But don't go crazy."

"Then let me spar with Rin."

"Rin?" Minato hadn't expected that request. He assumed he would want to spar with him or Obito. 

"She won't be a challenge, but it'll be good for her." Kakashi kept his face in his book, so Minato was having difficulty getting a read on him.

"Ah, Kushina mentioned your suggestions and complaints about Obito letting her win. I'm not sure if Rin has the constitution to kill someone. Medics are trained to survive and save lives, not kill people,” Minato tried to explain.

"Have you said that to Tsunade-sama?" Kakashi looked up at him from his book. 

Minato paled a bit at the thought of saying that to Tsunade-hime. "She is a special case. Most medic nins are not like that. Rin is not like that."

"Rin is less afraid of death than you think. Don't look down on her, Sensei. As a medic, she will deal with a lot more gore than we will." Kakashi returned his attention to his book.

Minato felt sufficiently chastised. It was true that he didn't expect as much from Rin as he did the boys. She wanted to be a field medic, which meant healing, not killing. But Kakashi seemed to have a lot more faith in her than he did. 

They got to the training grounds, and Minato apologized for their tardiness, explaining that Kakashi’s appointment had gone long. Of course, both Rin and Obito were more interested in Kakashi than his explanation. He allowed himself to go quiet and watched with interest as Kakashi allowed them to crowd him. 

"Are you feeling better?" Rin asked, her hands clasped behind her back. 

"They healed my heart, so I am fine now."

"Your heart? What was wrong with it?" Obito cocked his head in an almost puppy-like manner.

"It broke after the loss of Mr. Ukki. I didn't think I would ever recover." Kakashi shook his head sadly. Who was Mr. Ukki? 

"Did he die?" Rin asked while looking confused but trying to appear sympathetic. 

Kakashi cocked his head, "Maa, I hope not, but I haven't seen him in a while." No one really knew what to do with what Kakashi was saying. It didn't seem to bother him too much. "We should get started with training. Rin, you'll be sparing with me. We'll be focused on taijutsu."

Rin looked at Minato, and he could see her excitement. Minato still wasn’t convinced that Kakashi should be sparing. He had intended to fight Kakashi himself so he could stop him if Kakashi needed a break. but Minato supposed he could do that watching too. "We'll do warm-ups first, and Obito and I will observe,” Minato relented.

"Okay," Rin chirped. 

The four of them started their warm-up routine. Minato usually joined them, but he was keeping an eye on Kakashi. Afterward, Rin and Kakashi went to the center of the field to begin. As she was trained to do, Rin put distance between them, but Kakashi followed her keeping close. Rin went to escape again, but Kakashi clearly read it and blocked her path. She lashed out with a kick, but Kakashi captured her leg and then used it to throw her to the ground.

Obito made a start to rush in, but Minato grabbed his arm to stop him. "Sensei, he's hurting her,” Obito pointed at the pair.

"Obito, if he were going to hurt her, he would have done so straight away, not chased her about. Trust your teammate a bit more." Minato wasn’t just chiding Obito, but also himself. He never had Kakashi fight Rin because he didn't believe Kakashi knew how to restrain himself. Clearly, he had been wrong. 

It was shocking, but this was a teaching spar. Kakashi was playing the teacher's part by tapping at her openings and guiding her to attack his. In the end, Rin got pinned to the ground with her face half-buried in the dirt. Minato clapped; he was impressed. Kakashi got off Rin and offered her a hand that she took with a grin. Rin ran a hand down her face to wipe the dirt off. "You did well, Rin, once you stopped running away from me. Your evasion skills are better than Obito’s."

Rin giggled, a bit embarrassed, "I'm supposed to stay out of fighting so I can take care of you two."

"That just makes you a liability, Rin," Kakashi said bluntly. Minato winced, feeling the brutality of the statement towards himself.

Obito sputtered and then bull-rushed Kakashi. Kakashi dipped down and flipped Obito over his shoulder, then pinned him into the dirt the same way he had Rin just moments ago. "Thank you for demonstrating my point, Obito. See Rin, Obito doesn't believe you to be capable of taking care of yourself. So, he rushes in to protect you with his stupidity."

"Ack! That's not true!" Obito blustered beneath Kakashi. 

"If it wasn't true, he wouldn't be in the dirt. In the field, it only makes sense to take out the medic-nin first. Especially if the rest of the team will react blindly like Obito did. You can't just run-away Rin, you have to end it." Kakashi pulled a kunai out of his pouch and slammed it into the ground next to Obito's neck, "quickly." 

"Ah, thank you, Kakashi," Minato said to the rogue teacher. 

Kakashi got up off Obito and focused on Rin once more, "come at me again, Rin, but this time with the intent to kill me."

Minato expected Rin to object, but instead, she nodded sharply. She went after Kakashi with no further prompting and a kunai already in hand. Obito came back to his position next to Minato, his arms crossed. "Is he right, Sensei?"

Minato chewed on the question. He knew the answer because he was guilty of the tactic. If you find a medic-nin, kill it. Somehow, it hadn’t crossed over to change how he trained Rin. Instead, he thought if the boys were stronger, they could take care of her better. If she were faster, then she could get out of danger. Medic nins stayed in the back and offered support like traps and shuriken. But Tsunade-hime had a different approach. He had heard her rant about it to Jiraiya-sensei. Medics died too quickly on the field because they were not trained to fight. Wasn't he sealing Rin’s fate to an early death? "Yes, Obito. Kakashi is right. I think it’s time I implemented a new training method with you three. But that means you and I will have to start allowing Rin to fight her own battles."

"Alright, Sensei." 

Kakashi didn’t last much longer after that. He ended the fight with Rin and went to take a break. He fell asleep nearby with a book on his face, and Minato wished he had a camera.

The other two were sparing, and Minato was proud to see a change in Obito as well. He was taking Rin seriously for the first time too. He thought about what Kushina had told him regarding Kakashi’s training suggestion. Honestly, Minato was a bit skeptical about listening to training advice from an 8-year-old who believes himself to be 33. Yet if he looked at it honestly, he didn't disagree with it. It matched most of their personalities; it was just Rin he was really struggling with. He just couldn't see teaching assassin techniques to her. Kushina had called him a sexist bastard. She told him that Rin was a kunoichi and deserved to be respected as one. She needs as much training as the boys do. Minato hadn't even realized he had done that. 

When the spar was over, he sent Obito off to work on his fire jutsu so Minato could spend some one-on-one time with Rin. He was relieved that it wasn't nearly as uncomfortable as he had thought it was going to be. She was an eager student. As he was correcting her form, a strange chakra signature suddenly appeared. 

Minato didn’t hesitate and phased to his sleeping Kakashi. His hand clamped around an arm of a man set to stab Kakashi in the heart. The assassin had returned. Minato’s added chakra and the strength of his anger to his grip in hopes of crushing the assassin’s bones. Kakashi, too, had blocked the kunai poised at his chest. But Minato saw the way Kakashi’s arms shook in his effort. Kakashi wouldn’t have had the physical strength to successfully blocked the attack if Minato hadn’t intervened.

Kakashi kicked up, clearly intending for his feet to be planted on the assassin’s chest to shove him off, but the assassin suddenly disappeared. Minato stumbled forward, and Kakashi planted both of his feet on Minato's chest instead. It felt like Kakashi kicked him right in the lungs, and he gasped for breath. Kakashi had a vicious kick, especially when Minato wasn't expecting it.

Kakashi didn't bother to apologize; instead scrambled to his feet. Everyone was on alert. Minato expanded his awareness in hopes of finding the assassin. A fireball blazed to life directly behind Kakashi. They both jumped out of its path and regrouped with Rin and Obito. 

"He becomes solid when he needs to attack," Kakashi advised.

"Ugh, I hate ghosts," Obito complained and prepared a fireball jutsu. 

Kakashi seemed to find this funny for some reason and laughed. 

"Don't make fun of me, Bakashi," Obito growled at Kakashi. 

"Boys," Minato snapped. They had a hostile in the area that was making them wait. Now was not the time for the two to be bickering. 

"Below!" Kakashi warned and launched himself in the air. The rest of them followed as a man came bursting out of the ground. 

"Hatake!" The enemy snarled, his face twisted in rage. "You can't escape me!" 

Like hell, he couldn't. Minato charged to intercept the assassin and prevent him from getting to Kakashi. He swung a kunai to lodge it in the man's head for a killing blow, but his arm went right through him, stabbing the air. The enemy appeared behind him and was still on his original trajectory to attack Kakashi. Minato whipped around in surprise at being completely ignored. The assassin had put Minato, the largest threat, at his back. His singular focus was odd.

Kakashi moved into a stronger defensive stance, but he kept his eyes trained on the assassin. Minato nearly yelled at him to move out the way, but Obito and Rin threw shurikens at the assassin, and once again, the man phased out of sight. 

Minato remained tense. The enemy could come at them from any direction. All of them were straining to hear or catch a glimpse of the phantom, but nothing came. It was several minutes before they released their fighting stances. Kakashi went over and grabbed his book off the ground. 

"Who did you piss off?" Obito asked Kakashi. 

Kakashi shrugged, seemingly unoffended, "plenty. I can produce an itemized list of all the people I have pissed off and how if you want."

Kakashi had said it in such a way that it felt like a genuine offer. "Ah, no, Kakashi, it's fine," Minato answered instead of Obito. "We need to go report this." 

"Maa, they already know," Kakashi pointed to a squad of ANBU that was just now approaching them. 

The group relaxed upon seeing them. Help had arrived. The attack had already stopped, but having ANBU present would likely stave off any further attacks for now. "The enemy nin is gone. Is the Hokage available for a report?" Minato asked.

The ANBU nodded, and two of the six escorted Minato’s team to the Hokage Tower. The others likely went in search of the intruder. 

As they headed to the tower, Minato assessed his students. They appeared uninjured, but the phantom was only after one person. "Kakashi-kun, are you uninjured?" Minato asked. 

He was surprised to see Kakashi smile back at him. The boy had never tossed those out freely. "I'm fine, Sensei. You stopped him from getting me, and then Rin and Obito threw the shuriken, forcing him to give up his last attack to avoid theirs."

Minato blinked; he had not expected Kakashi to praise everyone. The other two preened happily at it. Obito began to boast about something, but Minato ignored it. Once again, Minato was reminded that Kakashi wasn't okay. He didn't have an easy smile like that. He didn't praise others. Kakashi, as much as he loved the boy, was not a kind kid. He did not appreciate teamwork. Nor was he humble, and yet Kakashi didn’t mention his own involvement. Kakashi had gone from sleeping to blocking an attack. Minato could attest from the bruise on his chest just how vicious the boy’s kicks were. Kakashi warned the group about the attack below them, and he didn't run headlong into battle. He stayed where his teammates could aid him quickly. Kakashi had set his teammates up to successfully defend him and then praised them afterward for doing what he positioned them to do. 

"I'm glad you’re uninjured," Minato finally said after a delay. No one acknowledged his slow response. 

They arrived at the Hokage tower and were escorted up to the large office. They were announced before being allowed entrance. The Sandaime remained seated as the four of them bowed respectfully. The smell of his pipe permeated the room despite the Sandaime not currently smoking. Minato reported the sequence of events along with his own analysis and about the oddity of the phantom's singular focus on his newly adopted son. 

"I see," the Hokage's face was pulled taut. "Kakashi-kun, can you think of a reason why an assassin is after you?" The singular focus on Kakashi really threw off all their original ideas of this being an indirect attack against Minato.

"Maa," Kakashi shrugged, "maybe he's the one that sent me here to the past to kill me. Likely part of the Otsutsuki clan who shoulder a grudge against my students and me for killing their ancestor Kaguya, the moon goddess and the mother of chakra." 

The room was hushed for several breaths, then Minato groaned, "Kakashi, please be serious."

"Ahh, of course. Maybe the assassin is after Minato-sensei by taking out his favorite student?" Obito squawked in anger about Kakashi being the favorite. Minato glared at him for his patronizing answer. It was times like this he missed the boy’s rigid personality. 

The Sandaime eyes crinkled in a smile, but there was a calculating look in them instead of mirth. "Thank you, Kakashi-kun. Minato-san, perhaps you should escort your team back to their homes. Kushina-chan is not out on a mission right now. I am confident she can keep our young Hatake busy while we discuss this."

Minato knew an order when he heard one. "Yes, Hokage-sama." The team bowed before leaving.  
  
By the time they made it out of the tower, Kakashi had the book he had been sleeping under out. 

"How can you read and walk like that," Obito questioned his teammate. 

"Maaa, I wonder," Kakashi gave him a non-answer. Minato was ready to strangle the boy. When had this happened? How had he become so damn annoying? Minato forced himself to put his emotions back in check before he does things he shouldn't.

Minato walked his other two students to their respective homes and then took Kakashi home. They were silent towards one another. It wasn't comfortable either. He wanted to scold Kakashi for his behavior towards the Hokage but wasn't sure how. Part of him worried Kakashi actually believed what he initially said and didn't want that confirmed. Kakashi wasn't trying to break the silence either. He seemed blissfully unaware of the torment he was causing Minato. The boy focused on his book, and Minato noticed the cover was cloaked in a genjutsu. He broke the genjutsu and suddenly regretted it. "Kakashi, what the hell are you reading?!" He snatched the book from his hand.

"A romance novel."

"This is porn, Kakashi!" 

"It has a plot."

"It... that’s not the point, Kakashi! You are too young for this kind of stuff. Where did you even get this?" Minato thumped the book.

Kakashi looked bored with this already. "Kushina-san. She said I could borrow whatever I wanted."

"You-from her?" What was Kushina thinking loaning this out to him? 

"May I have it back?" He held out his hand expectantly. Did Kakashi really think he was going to just hand back pornography to a child?

"No," He stuffed it into his own pouch. 

"Maa Sensei, how do you know if it's porn or not? Have you read it," Kakashi drawled his question.

Minato felt his face heat up. No, he hadn’t, but Kushina had liked two of the scenes in it and shared them with him. "I just know," He tried to sound firm. 

Kakashi gave a dry laugh, "Sensei, you lucky dog." 

Minato couldn’t go any redder, "Kakashi!" He was being jostled about sex by an 8-year-old. What was his life? "Just go inside," he gestured to the door to their home. "Kushina is in there. Stay with her. We don’t need you running off by yourself with an assassin after you."

"Yes, Sensei," Kakashi disappeared into the house. 

Minato shook his head and went back to the Hokage Tower. There was a lot to discuss. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kakashi is recovering! Minato is trying so hard to figure out how to navigate his new personality. I think Kakashi may be enjoying Minato's frustration. Lol. Let me know what you think!

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Time for A Purplish-Black Hole](https://archiveofourown.org/works/29732247) by [AiHuiyuan](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AiHuiyuan/pseuds/AiHuiyuan)




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